Sacramento County men accused of installing ATM skimmers to steal cash from EBT accounts
Detectives arrested three Sacramento County men accused of installing skimming devices at Bank of America ATMs in the region, stealing money intended to help families in need.
Sorin Mitrache, 36, Marius Panciu, 43, and Papas Zacharias, 42, all from Elk Grove were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to use forged credit cards, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office announced in a news release. The suspects were initially detained by police in San Joaquin County.
The arrests were the result of a joint investigation by the Sheriff’s Office and Bank of America corporate security. The investigation focused on illegal skimming, particularly the high-volume cash-out sequence at ATMs near the start of each month when Electronic Benefits Transfer accounts are funded by California.
The EBT program allows people in all 50 states to transfer their public assistance benefits to participating retailers to purchase items, and ATMs to obtain cash.
Sheriff’s officials said the suspects used doctored magnetic striped cards to withdraw cash from Bank of America EBT customers during these cash-out periods. Investigators observed the suspects using similar techniques to withdraw cash from at least four banking systems, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
On Friday, Manteca Police Department officers were alerted of a crime in progress and detained the three suspects in close proximity to the scene of the crime. Detectives from the Sacramento Valley Hi-Tech Crimes Task Force were then called to Manteca and arrested the three men.
Sheriff’s officials said investigators served search warrants at various locations and vehicles, where they found additional evidence of the crimes. The suspects remained in custody Tuesday at the Sacramento County Jail.
Detectives asked anyone with information relevant to this investigation to call the Hi-Tech Crimes Task Force at 916-874-3004 or send an email to httf@sacsheriff.com
This story was originally published September 6, 2022 at 12:48 PM.
