3 Oakland residents arrested in government assistance fraud case
(KRON)—Three Oakland residents were arrested and charged with device fraud and theft in Electronic Benefits Transfers (EBT), a system used in California to deliver public assistance benefits such a… Three Romanian residents have been charged with device fraud and theft in Electronic Benefits Transfers (EBT), a system used in California to provide public assistance benefits such as CalFresh, CalWORKs, and other food and cash aid benefits. The three individuals, all from Romania, allegedly fraudulently withdrew cash with “cloned” cards, which are used to replace legitimate EBT cards. The victims are mostly low-income families who rely heavily on EBT benefits for daily necessities. From January to March, California reported a loss of over $22 million in Electronic Benefit Transfer theft. If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum statutory sentence of ten years in prison.
Publié : il y a 2 mois par Hamza Fahmy dans Politics
(KRON)—Three Oakland residents were arrested and charged with device fraud and theft in Electronic Benefits Transfers (EBT), a system used in California to deliver public assistance benefits such as CalFresh, CalWORKs, and other food and cash aid benefits.
US Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey and the United States Secret Service (“USSS”) in San Francisco announced the news on Thursday.
The complaints allege that the Oakland residents, all hailing from Romania, fraudulently withdrew cash with “cloned” cards. “Cloned” cards are debit cards, gift cards, or other devices with magnetic strips that have been encoded with information from legitimate EBT cards.
Prosecutors said the three Oakland residents obtained other account holders’ information through “skimming,” in which an individual’s card information is recorded through an installed ATM keypad overlay before pulling cash out.
Since this is a government assistance program, many victims of the scheme are largely low-income families who depend on EBT benefits to buy food and other household necessities.
According to the USSS, from January to March this year, California reported a loss of over $22 million in Electronic Benefits Transfer theft.
Prosecutors said that if convicted, each defendant faces a maximum statutory sentence of ten years in prison on each charge.
Les sujets: Fraud, Corruption