OHIO, USA — According to federal prosecutors, a group of Romanian nationals is accused of targeting northwest Ohio in a sweeping fraud scheme that allegedly stole nearly $1 million in SNAP benefits.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio reported that a federal grand jury in Cleveland indicted five men in connection with the scheme, which impacted multiple retailers in the Toledo area.
The defendants, all Romanian citizens, were apprehended in a series of arrests throughout Ohio and California. Those charged in connection with the scheme include:
- Ionut Ilie, aka Ionut Dorabantu, aka Morgan Anderson, aka Ionut Craciun-Cercel, aka Lukas Hladky, aka Frederick Juhl, 44
- Constantin Eugen Ion, aka Piranha, 44
- Valentin Velicu, aka Grasu, aka Yanis Karagunis, 50
- Dragos Georghie Vasile, 46
- Marian Alexandru Semplican, 23
Each defendant is charged with conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, conspiracy to commit access device fraud, conspiracy to commit identity theft and sale or receipt of stolen government monies. One suspect remains at large, according to the DOJ. Ilie also faces an additional charge for illegal reentry into the United States after prior removals in 2019 and 2023.
Prosecutors stated the group used a tactic known as “point-of-sale skimming” to steal EBT card information. The devices were allegedly installed on card readers at stores frequently used by SNAP recipients. According to the DOJ report, the skimmers were designed to blend in with payment terminals and capture data from the magnetic stripe when cards were swiped. Investigators said victims often had no idea their information had been compromised…