Five people were arrested on suspicion of stealing information to clone EBT cards and take money meant for low-income Californians, the U.S. Justice Department announced Wednesday, Feb. 5.
Three of the defendants were detained without bond, and the other two, who were arrested Sunday, made their initial court appearances Wednesday.
During an operation Sunday, around 70 law enforcement officers monitored ATMs around Los Angeles to find anyone who made multiple cash withdrawals using cards encoded with stolen information from cards distributed by the California Department of Social Services to provide CalFresh and CalWORKS benefits.
The five individuals were arrested after authorities learned that they allegedly accessed and stole money from the accounts of actual EBT beneficiaries.
Authorities charged each of the five defendants with using unauthorized access devices because they reportedly used cards with stolen EBT account numbers and PINs to make cash withdrawals. The charge brings a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, but the sentence could be extended based on any past convictions.
The unauthorized withdrawals totaled $25,480, and authorities recovered around 161 cloned or counterfeited EBT cards. Arrests took place at ATMs in Los Angeles and Torrance, which the state Department of Social Services determined were top locations for EBT fraud, according to criminal complaints in each case.
Three of the defendants were Romanian nationals, and two were French nationals. All of them were in the United States illegally, the Department of Justice said.
“This is an ongoing problem across California, particularly in this region,” said Thom Mrozek, a spokesperson for the United States Attorney’s Office.
In 2024, the state Department of Social Services reported more than $126.8 million stolen from EBT cardholders, targeting CalFresh and CalWORKS, two programs intended to help low-income Californians pay for food and basic needs.
The Department of Justice also announced the arrests of 15 people following a similar operation in March 2023 that focused on ATMs around the Los Angeles area. In that case, authorities recovered 429 cloned EBT cards and $129,000 in stolen ATM withdrawals. Eleven of the arrestees were Romanian nationals.
Devices called skimmers are placed in card readers at ATMs to capture data from the cards. The devices often have a small camera as well in order to gather PINs, Mrozek said.
With that data gathered, the suspects are able to take any card with a mag strip, such as a gift card, and encode it with the stolen information. These cards are then used at ATMs to withdraw funds.
Then “runners” are dispatched to various ATMs across the area to withdraw funds, typically during the first three days of the month when EBT funds are distributed.