Man stole thousands of dollars from low-income Southern Californians through skimming scheme

A man was sentenced to prison for stealing thousands of dollars from low-income Southern California residents.

Catalin-Marius Graur, 43, stole the funds by skimming tens of thousands of electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards at ATMs, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

EBT cards allow recipients to access benefits from CalFresh, CalWORKs, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and more.

Graur is a Romanian citizen who entered the U.S. on a tourist visa in 2020 but overstayed his visa, prosecutors said. His last known residence was in Hollywood.

Graur travelled across Los Angeles and the Inland Empire, installing sophisticated skimming devices in ATMs and point-of-sale terminals to capture the account information of anyone who used those devices.