Latest news with #ElectronicBenefitTransfer
Los Angeles Times
5 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
Man who overstayed his visa stole food aid from thousands of needy Californians, feds say
A man believed to have been a part of a Romanian criminal organization was sentenced to 10 years in prison last week after he stole tens of thousands of welfare cards across California and New York. Catalin-Marius Graur, 43, was sentenced Aug. 4 after pleading guilty in October 2024 to one count of bank fraud. When he was arrested at a New York City Airbnb apartment in June 2024, he had over $37,000 in cash and nearly 1,500 stolen account access numbers in his possession, according to a statement from the Department of Justice. In his scheme, officials said Graur targeted those receiving Electronic Benefit Transfer funds, which are distributed by social services departments to help low-income communities receive food and cash aid. In California, these are accessed through programs like CalFresh — previously known as food stamps — and CalWORKS. According to DOJ officials, Graur would steal EBT card information by attaching 'sophisticated skimming devices' to ATMs and other sales machines across Los Angeles and the Inland Empire. Once the victim entered their card, the device captured their information. Fraudulent cards can be made with the stolen information and used to withdraw EBT funds. Graur was not living in the United States legally, according to officials. A Romanian citizen, he entered the U.S. in 2020 on a tourist visa but overstayed his visit, the release said. He worked with multiple people internationally in the scheme, with one accomplice receiving more than 36,000 stolen EBT card numbers from Graur over the course of three years, the statement said. Another co-conspirator involved in the scheme, Mihai-Adrian Humoiu, was sentenced to over seven years in prison in May, according to the FBI. According to the Los Angeles division of the FBI, which investigated Graur's case, there are multiple instances of Romanian citizens coming to the U.S. to commit bank fraud. The agency has investigated that crime route in particular for many years. In 2023, The Times reported on a string of Romanian citizens who had been arrested for skimming EBT funds through ATMs, including Virgil Negru, a member of the Eforie City Council, who was charged with felony forgery and identity theft. Because the process of skimming is complicated and requires lots of different steps, the crimes are often organized and conducted in groups. It's a crime of opportunity, they said, and scammers travel anywhere they think they could find success — it's not exclusive to California or Romania. Unlike modern debit or credit cards, EBT cards traditionally have not had microchips, making them especially easy to clone. But that changed in California in April, when the state rolled out new cards with microchips, said Gerry Bonilla, the division chief for program compliance in the state's Social Services Department. Customers with the new cards can use the tap function for transaction at all businesses with the feature available on their sales machines. Since issuing the new cards, Bonilla said that the department has received fewer reports of EBT scamming. Nowadays, most of the reports his office receives of EBT card scamming come from stores without microchip readers on their point of sale machines. The Times also reported that wait times for EBT fund reimbursement after reporting a scam could take weeks, as agencies became overwhelmed with requests. In California, this process has quickened in recent years, with the process now being nearly 'instantaneous,' Bonilla said. Customers have to file a benefit reimbursement claim within 90 days starting on the day of the theft. The state requires that claim to be processed within 10 days, but Bonilla said it often only takes one or two days, depending on the circumstances of the theft. CalFresh has additional requirements for reimbursement. Customers cannot be reimbursed twice in one Federal Fiscal Year and the amount 'cannot exceed the equivalent of two months' worth of their monthly allotment per occurence,' Bonilla said in an email. Separately, another person, also from Romania, plead guilty to bank fraud and asylum fraud in San Francisco for the same type of scam with EBT cards, according to another DOJ statement. Marius Marian, 39, illegally accessed over $500,000 in EBT funds through attaching skimming devices to ATMs. Marian is a Romanian citizen who illegally entered the U.S. and then was deported in 2019 after serving eight months in custody for bank fraud. In an application for asylum, submitted to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security around April 2023, he knowingly failed to disclose his previous deportation, the statement said. His sentencing is scheduled for October.
CNBC
08-08-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Trump's 'big beautiful' bill will cut $186 billion from SNAP through 2035—how states might handle the changes
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program helps more than 42 million people afford groceries each month, making it the largest anti-hunger program in the United States. But due to President Donald Trump's tax and spending megabill signed on July 4, that support is set to shrink dramatically, experts say. The "big beautiful" bill will cut about $186 billion from SNAP funding through 2034, according to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office. Cuts to the program and significant cost shifts to states will leave millions of low-income Americans without some or all of the food assistance they need to put meals on the table, says Katie Bergh, senior policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan research and policy institute. "For decades, SNAP has been there for low-income families, and as a result, we have largely eliminated severe hunger and malnutrition in this country," Bergh says. "But that's not a guarantee without the support that this program provides to help low-income families afford groceries." Currently, people who get SNAP benefits receive an average of $6.20 per day, distributed through an Electronic Benefit Transfer card that reloads monthly and can be used at authorized grocery stores and retailers. These amounts could decline or reach fewer people under the "big beautiful bill," Bergh says. Some of the changes to the program include: The new budget bill increases the amount of administrative costs states need to cover, and for the first time in the program's history, requires states to foot a portion of the costs for food benefits, too. Those higher costs for SNAP could threaten the future of the program in some states altogether, according to the CBPP. That's because states need to balance their budgets annually, and if a state cannot make up the percentage of SNAP it needs to cover, officials will be left with few options for making adjustments, Bergh says. The percentage of SNAP benefit costs a state will have to cover depends on its SNAP payment error rate. The error rate is the percentage of benefits incorrectly paid out by a state, by giving too much or too little to recipients. If a state's error rate is at or above 6%, it will have to cover 5% to 15% of SNAP benefit costs, determined on a sliding scale. In 2024, the average state error rate was 10.9%, according to a report from the Department of Agriculture. Any state with an error rate above 10% will have to cover 15% of its benefit costs under the "big beautiful" bill. If California has to cover 15% of benefit costs, it will owe $1.8 billion for SNAP funding in 2028, according to estimated projections from Feeding America, a national network of food service programs. Other states could owe hundreds of millions under the cost shift, Bergh says. Here's what could happen if your state can't foot the bill. To continue providing SNAP, some state officials may slash funding in other areas to make room in the budget. That could result in cuts to housing or public safety programs, according to a report from the CBPP. Tax hikes could also be on the table, Bergh says, though changes would vary based on state budgeting. States looking to cut costs may significantly restrict SNAP eligibility to reduce the number of people who qualify for the program, according to the CBPP. That could be done by adding "red tape" that makes it harder for people who are eligible for benefits to access and keep them, Bergh says. She says administrative barriers tend to impact the "most vulnerable people," such as seniors and people with disabilities, as well as working families who lack the time to go back and forth with a SNAP benefits office. In the situation that a state cannot come up with the money to compensate for the federal funding it's lost, state officials may decide it's necessary to cut SNAP entirely, Bergh says. It is not immediately clear how many states are at risk of losing benefits altogether, as error rates fluctuate from year to year and could change significantly before the benefits cost-shift to states goes into effect in October 2027. Because food banks are "already overburdened," Bergh says, "they absolutely cannot fill the hole that losing SNAP would leave in a state." That means millions of low-income families would be left without basic food security if their states lose SNAP altogether, she says. Policy centers and state officials are still awaiting additional guidance from the Department of Agriculture on the steps states need to take to comply with the new provisions and what the timeline for implementing changes will be, Bergh says. Although this is an unprecedented time, SNAP recipients should feel reassured that changes to SNAP aren't going to happen immediately, or all at once, she says. "It is very hard to say at a national level what the impacts in particular states might be," Bergh says. But, "nothing is going to change overnight." As states await updates, it's best for recipients to confirm their contact information is up to date so they don't miss any important notices, per recommendations from state officials.
Deccan Herald
12-06-2025
- Business
- Deccan Herald
RBI asks banks to give due notices to customers for periodic KYC update
In a circular, the RBI said it has observed a large pendency in periodic updation of KYC, including in the accounts opened for credit of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT)/ Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) under government schemes to facilitate credit of DBTs and/or scholarship amount (DBT/EBT/scholarship beneficiaries) and accounts opened under PMJDY.
Business Standard
12-06-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
RBI eases process for updation of KYC
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) came up with a list of of amendments to its Know Your Customer (KYC) norms. The Reserve Bank has observed a large pendency in periodic updation of KYC including in the accounts opened for credit of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT)/ Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) under Government schemes to facilitate credit of DBTs and/ or scholarship amount (DBT/ EBT/ scholarship beneficiaries) and accounts opened under PMJDY. In order to further ease the process for the convenience of customers, the instructions regarding updation/ periodic updation of KYC have been amended with the intent, inter alia, to allow BCs to facilitate in the process of KYC updation vide Reserve Bank of India (Know Your Customer (KYC)) (Amendment) Directions, 2025. Similar amendments related to inoperative accounts and unclaimed deposits have been made. The processes of onboarding customer and updation/ periodic updation of KYC have been simplified as follows: Face-to-face mode for onboarding the customer Customer may be onboarded in face-to-face mode through Aadhaar biometric based e-KYC authenticating and, in such case, if customer wants to provide a current address, different from the address as per the identity information available in the UIDAI database (i.e., Central Identities Data Repository), he may give a self-declaration to that effect to the RE (ref. paragraph 16 of the Master Direction on KYC). Further, Digital KYC process is also allowed for customer onboarding. Non-face-to-face (NFTF) modes for onboarding the customer Consent-based onboarding of customer in NFTF mode may be done using Aadhaar OTP based e-KYC authentication which is subject to certain conditions (ref. paragraph 17 of the Master Direction on KYC). Further, such account shall be placed under strict monitoring, and Customer Due Diligence (CDD) procedure shall be completed within a year. Customer onboarding in NFTF mode using digital modes such as KYC Identifier, equivalent e-documents, documents issued through DigiLocker, and non-digital modes such as obtaining copy of OVD certified by additional certifying authorities as allowed for NRIs and PIOs are subject to certain conditions. Customer onboarding using Video based Customer Identification Process (V-CIP) V-CIP is an alternate method of CDD by an authorised official of the RE by undertaking seamless, secure, live, informed and consent based audiovisual interaction with the customer to obtain identification information required for CDD purpose. V-CIP is treated on par with face-to-face onboarding. Simplified process of updation and periodic updation of KYC Self-declarations - REs are allowed to obtain self-declaration regarding "no change in KYC information" or "a change only in address details" from customers using digital and non-digital modes, through customer's email / mobile number registered with the RE, ATMs, digital channels (such as online banking / internet banking, mobile application of RE), letter, BCs, etc. The updation/ periodic updation of KYC records are allowed to be carried out at any branch of the RE with which customer maintains the account. Aadhaar OTP based e-KYC and V-CIP are permitted for the purpose of updation/ periodic updation of KYC. The REs have been directed to update customers' KYC information/ records based on the update notification received from CKYCR.
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Yahoo
Rep. Vince Fong introduces SKIM Act to combat EBT fraud
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — For months, KGET has followed the EBT fraud crisis in Kern County. What started out as calls to our newsroom led to the revelation of dozens of victims and thousands of dollars in benefits stolen. The investigation shed light on millions of stolen dollars and a sophisticated Romanian crime ring operating across the county. After countless attempts of asking elected officials for answers, change may be coming from Capitol Hill. Skimming Scheme: The Romanian crime ring stealing EBT benefits in Kern County On Friday, Rep. Vince Fong (R-Bakersfield) introduced the 'Stopping Klepto-card and Identity Misuse Act' — or SKIM Act. This legislative effort is specifically designed to crack down EBT theft, that is Electronic Benefit Transfer, known as CalFresh and CalWorks in California. Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford) is a co-sponsor of the bill. Through 17 News' investigation, we uncovered that the California Department of Social Services has lost more than $439 million in EBT benefits since 2021. In the last seven months, more than $2 million in Kern County taxpayer money has been stolen. Ex-Arvin teacher accused of sex with underage student set for hearing next week The SKIM Act directs the U.S. Attorney to coordinate federal, state, and local efforts to fight EBT fraud. It also asks sentencing guidelines to be much harder on EBT thieves. The bill also asks the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security to submit a report to Congress on their efforts to prevent, investigate, prosecute, and sentence convicted EBT thieves. You can read the SKIM Act in full here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
