10-year sentence for man who stole aid funds

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.

- ANNIE GOODYKOONTZ

Catalin-Marius Graur, 43, was sentenced Aug. 4 after pleading guilty in October 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.