Two Romanian brothers illegally in the United States pleaded guilty in federal court to orchestrating a fraud scheme that stole more than $760,000 in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits from recipients across multiple states.
Marian Ovidiu Dumitru, 37, and Catalin Dumitru, 39, both Romanian citizens who were residing unlawfully in the United States, each pleaded guilty to wire fraud in U.S. District Court in Charlotte. They each face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. A sentencing date has not been set.
“These individuals came to the United States illegally and preyed on some of our most vulnerable citizens — those receiving SNAP benefits,” said U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson for the Western District of North Carolina. “They stole benefits from those who actually need them and then resold products bought with those benefits for their own profit.”
According to court records, between July 2024 and August 2025, the brothers were members of an identity theft ring that defrauded SNAP programs in New Jersey, Massachusetts and other states. The scheme involved using skimming devices planted at ATMs, fuel pumps and other locations to steal data from electronic benefit transfer cards used to distribute SNAP benefits. The stolen account information was then loaded onto counterfeit bank cards, gift cards and other access devices.
The brothers used those counterfeit cards at large membership warehouse clubs to purchase thousands of dollars’ worth of bulk goods including coffee, candy, energy drinks and baby formula, which they then resold. Court records show they spent more than $15,600 at a warehouse club in Gastonia, N.C., and more than $19,000 at another in Pineville, N.C., using cards loaded with stolen SNAP account data from Massachusetts and New Jersey. Investigators also found the brothers in possession of 15 or more counterfeit and unauthorized bank cards with magnetic strips cloned with stolen SNAP EBT account information, along with blank cards.
The scheme victimized more than 10 individuals, causing some substantial hardship, according to court documents.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of the Inspector General, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and state and local partners. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Frick and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Kinlaw are prosecuting the case as part of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division.