Thirteen arrested on suspicion of EBT card theft may be part of Romanian syndicate, LAPD says
Thirteen people suspected of running an identity and Electronic Benefits Transfer card theft operation and being connected to a Romanian syndicate were arrested Tuesday at a Van Nuys motel, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Authorities found credit card skimming devices, card readers, more than $36,000 and a large number of false identification cards and documents when they served a search warrant at a motel in the 4700 block of Sepulveda Boulevard, the LAPD said in a news release.
Police were acting on a community tip about the suspects, who may be part of a Romanian syndicate known to target people experiencing economic hardship for their EBT cards, according to the LAPD.
Money meant for the lowest-income Los Angeles County residents is being siphoned from their EBT cards in record amounts.
The LAPD said the suspects have stolen millions from ATM machines using card skimmers to drain funds from EBT accounts in California.
The LAPD said it has been working with the U.S. Secret Service and other federal and local law enforcement agencies for the last two years as part of the Southern California High Tech Task Force, which is going after EBT fraud.
In Los Angeles County, officials say more than $19.6 million in EBT benefits were stolen in 2022 — a more than 20-fold increase from the year before, when the county lost less than $1 million. This January alone, the county lost over $2.9 million — a one-month record.
Times staff writer Rebecca Ellis contributed to this report.
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