Federal authorities in San Diego have arrested four individuals for allegedly stealing public assistance benefits from low-income California families.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office reports that these arrests are part of an ongoing surge in benefits theft. Since 2023, over 52 people in San Diego have been charged with stealing CalWORKS benefits, totaling at least $4 million in losses for hundreds of victims.
The suspects allegedly used card skimmers to steal EBT account information, which was then re-encoded onto “cloned” cards. Withdrawals were made at ATMs in the early hours before state benefit disbursements.
The arrested individuals are:
Razvan Balu – Attempted $196,650; stole $159,990 from 210 victims across San Diego, Fresno, Los Angeles, Kern, Kings, and Tulare counties.
Juan Trandafir – Stole $145,250, attempted $169,670 from 181 victims; withdrawals across San Diego County including Chula Vista, Lemon Grove, and Oceanside.
Hassib Baraekzay – Stole over $25,000 from 43 victims at San Diego County ATMs.
Veronica Ochoa – Withdrew more than $22,000 from 27 victims in San Diego County.
U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon condemned the scheme:
“These criminals target people living one paycheck away from crisis. Exploiting that vulnerability is as cruel as it is criminal.”
