Florin Serdaru, 29, was sentenced to 39 months in federal prison for his role in a large-scale Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) fraud scheme that stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in benefits from recipients across multiple states, including Maryland.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, 29-year-old Florin Serdaru was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Julie R. Rubin to 39 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. He was also ordered to pay $343,756 in restitution and forfeit $91,873.52.
Prosecutors said Serdaru and his co-conspirators used skimming devices to steal Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card information from SNAP recipients in Maryland and several other states. The stolen information was used to create cloned EBT cards that allowed the group to make fraudulent purchases of bulk items at retailers including Sam’s Club and BJ’s Wholesale…