An undocumented Romanian immigrant who lived in Hollywood was sentenced Monday to 10 years in federal prison for skimming more than $150,000 from the public-assistance benefit cards of low-income residents.
Catalin-Marius Graur, 43, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi, who also ordered him to pay $165,697 in restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Graur pleaded guilty in Los Angeles federal court in October 2024 to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
Graur is a Romanian citizen who entered the U.S. on a tourist visa in 2020 but overstayed his visa, prosecutors said. Graur traveled across Los Angeles and the Inland Empire installing sophisticated skimming devices on ATMs and point-of-sale terminals to record the account information of individuals who used them.
Graur was arrested in New York City in an Airbnb rental apartment in June 2024. He had more than $37,000 in cash with him, along with 1,488 stolen access device numbers, prosecutors said.
Federal prosecutors say he worked with multiple members of a transnational criminal organization from Romania to carry out the scheme. A search warrant for the residence of one of Graur’s accomplices revealed that Graur had sent him more than 36,000 stolen Electronic Benefit Transfer card numbers over three years.
EBT card recipients, whom Graur specifically targeted, receive benefits designed specifically to help low-income households pay for housing, food, and other necessities.