Romanian arrested with 36 cloned EBT cards, stolen funds in Delano: DA's office
23-year-old Bogdan Boceanu was arrested at the Wells Fargo in Delano with 36 cloned EBT cards and $4,030 stolen cash, according to the District Attorney. The evidence Boceanu was found with fits the description by investigators handling the case of Norbert Karaba.
Testifying Friday in the case against Karaba, a different Romanian, lead investigator Michael Brummett with the Kern County District Attorney said thieves hand write the PIN and balance on stickers. Then, the stickers are placed on the cards used to make the fraudulent withdrawals. This way the transactions are made fast and back to back.
This theft also fits the pattern of the other two EBT theft cases involving Romanians, withdrawing money from an ATM the first day of the month, all listed as transients.
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This is not the first time Boceanu is alleged to have done this.
Back in July of 2024, Boceanu was arrested after he was allegedly found with access cards and a scanning device. That felony case is still pending and he's been out on bail.
Fast forward eight months, he is rearrested and faces charges including grand theft, identity theft, and counterfeit transfers of EBT benefits.
The DA's office also released numbers for EBT thefts in February. Kern County lost just $159,008 dollars in stolen benefits.
Boceanu would be the fifth Romanian national accused of EBT theft in Kern County in the last four months. The District Attorney has not confirmed if there is a Romanian or international crime ring operating in Kern.
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