Authorities have charged ten people in connection with a massive Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card skimming operation that targeted victims in five New Jersey counties as well as New York and Pennsylvania, officials stated.
Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and Highland Park Police Chief Richard Abrams stated that the group began placing skimming devices at company ports of sale in February 2025 to obtain personal account information from EBT cardholders. The perpetrators then used the stolen information to create clone debit cards, enabling them to make large purchases of baby formula and energy drinks.
The suspects, identified as Maru Dumitru, Stefan Lautaru, Boby-Stefan Degeratu, Gabriela Ilie, Claudiu Padeanu, Demetria Costache, Mensi Dumitru, Albert Enciu, Florin Badea, and Gheorghe Miclescu, are charged with second- and third-degree crimes such as trafficking in personal identifying information, theft, and financial facilitation of criminal activities.
The Highland Park Police Department and the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office conducted search warrants that found more than 100 cloned EBT cards labeled with PINs and balances, as well as skimming and encoding devices and stolen products. Prosecutors believe that the financial damage in New Jersey alone will surpass $25,000.
Following a pretrial hearing on July 10, four defendants—Dumitru, Lautaru, Miclescu, and Degeratu—were ordered to be kept at the County Correctional Center until trial.
