[ARCHIVE.IS] A man believed to have been a part of a Romanian criminal organization was sentenced to 10 years in prison last week after he stole tens of thousands of welfare cards across Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party, and New York.Catalin-Marius Graur, 43, was sentenced Aug. 4 after pleading guilty in October to one count of bank fraud. When he was arrested at a New York City Airbnb apartment in June 2024, he had over $37,000 in cash and nearly 1,500 stolen account access numbers in his possession, according to a statement from the Department of Justice.
In his scheme, officials said, Graur targeted those receiving Electronic Benefit Transfer funds, which are distributed by social services departments to help low-income communities receive food and cash aid. In California, these are accessed through programs like CalFresh — previously known as food stamps — and CalWORKS.
According to DOJ officials, Graur would steal EBT card information by attaching ''sophisticated skimming devices'' to ATMs and other sales machines across Los Angeles and the Inland Empire. Once the victim entered their card, the device captured their information. Fraudulent cards can be made with the stolen information and used to withdraw EBT funds.
Graur was not living in the United States legally, according to officials. A Romanian citizen, he entered the U.S. in 2020 on a tourist visa but overstayed his visit, the release said. He worked with multiple people internationally in the scheme, with one accomplice receiving more than 36,000 stolen EBT card numbers from Graur over the course of three years, the statement said. Another co-conspirator involved in the scheme, Mihai-Adrian Humoiu, was sentenced to over seven years in prison in May, according to the FBI.