Five men have been indicted on charges related to a conspiracy to steal nearly $1 million in food assistance benefits from low-income families and individuals in Ohio and California, according to an April 20 announcement by the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
The case is significant because it involves the alleged theft of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funds intended for vulnerable populations. The indictment alleges that the group used sophisticated methods to compromise Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards and drain funds meant for food purchases.
The defendants, all Romanian citizens, are Ionut Ilie (also known as Ionut Dorabantu, Morgan Anderson, Ionut Craciun-Cercel, Lukas Hladky, Frederick Juhl), Constantin Eugen Ion (also a citizen of Mexico), Valentin Velicu, Dragos Georghie Vasile, and Marian Alexandru Semplican. Charges include conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, access device fraud conspiracy, identity theft conspiracy, and sale or receipt of stolen government monies. Ilie faces an additional charge related to illegal reentry after removal from the United States.
According to court documents cited in the indictment U.S. v. Ilie et al., case #1:26cr147, the group allegedly installed point-of-sale skimming devices at various retailers frequented by EBT card users in Ohio and California. These devices captured card information during legitimate transactions without victims’ knowledge. Skimmers were mailed from California to locations such as a UPS Store in Mentor before being placed at stores including 7-Eleven outlets in Toledo and Maple Heights as well as gas stations throughout Cleveland and Toledo.
A search warrant executed at one defendant’s residence uncovered equipment used for manufacturing skimming devices along with fake identification documents. In total, about $961,000 was either stolen or targeted during this operation.
If convicted on these charges, each defendant’s sentence will be determined by factors unique to their involvement including prior records and roles within the offense. The investigation involved multiple agencies including the FBI Cleveland Division; U.S. Department of Agriculture-Office of Inspector General; Homeland Security Investigations; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; United States Secret Service; Department of State Diplomatic Security Service; Ohio Investigative Unit; and Ohio State Highway Patrol-OSP Intelligence Unit.
Assistant United States Attorney Duncan T. Brown is leading prosecution efforts for this case out of northern Ohio—a region where community safety initiatives are promoted through outreach programs according to the official website (official website). The office serves as chief federal law enforcement under the Department of Justice (official website), enforces criminal laws on national security issues (official website), covers forty northern counties (official website), collaborates with schools/law enforcement agencies (official website), operates within federal law enforcement frameworks (official website), maintains offices across several cities including Cleveland (official website).
Authorities remind that an indictment is merely an allegation: “All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.”
