Rebecca C. Lutzko United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio | U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio
Five Romanian nationals have been indicted for allegedly conspiring to steal nearly $1 million in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) 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 indictment outlines a coordinated effort involving wire fraud, mail fraud, access device fraud, identity theft, and sale or receipt of stolen government monies. The accused are Ionut Ilie (also known as Morgan Anderson and other aliases), Constantin Eugen Ion (also a citizen of Mexico), Valentin Velicu, Dragos Georghie Vasile, and Marian Alexandru Semplican. Ilie faces an additional charge related to reentry after being previously removed from the United States.
According to court documents, the defendants allegedly used “POS skimming” devices on legitimate card readers at retailers frequented by EBT card users in both states. These devices captured payment and personal information from SNAP recipients' cards without their knowledge. The indictment alleges that skimmers were mailed from California to Ohio locations such as a UPS Store in Mentor before being installed at various stores including 7-Eleven outlets in Toledo and Maple Heights as well as gas stations across Cleveland and Toledo. Investigators also found a workshop for manufacturing these devices during a search at one defendant’s residence in North Hills, California.
In total, approximately $961,000 was either stolen or targeted during this conspiracy. 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.
If convicted, each defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court based on factors unique to each case such as prior criminal records or roles in the offense.
The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio is responsible for promoting community safety and protecting residents through outreach programs across northern Ohio according to its official website. This office serves as the chief federal law enforcement entity under the Department of Justice within its district according to its official website covering forty counties according to its official website, enforcing federal criminal laws on national security issues while defending civil suits brought against the United States according to its official website. The office also collaborates with schools and law enforcement agencies throughout northern Ohio according to its official website with offices located in Cleveland, Toledo, Akron, and Youngstown according to its official website.
Assistant United States Attorney Duncan T. Brown is leading prosecution efforts in this case identified as U.S. v Ilie et al., case #1:26cr147. Authorities remind that an indictment is only an allegation: "All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law."
