Five men who were indicted for their roles in an automated teller machine (ATM) theft scheme which targeted debit cards issued by the government in lieu of benefit checks are considered fugitives and are being sought by the FBI and its partner agencies, including the San Diego County Bureau of Public Assistance Investigations and the Irvine Police Department.

Ilie-Sebastian-Laur Vasilescu, Birdal Osman, Silviu-Florin Spiridon, Bogdan Adrian Purgariu, and an unknown subject, known by his alias “Walerian Grabowski,” are being sought for their alleged roles in a scheme to defraud the recipients of a federal and state benefits program. The defendants allegedly would install skimming devices on various points of sale terminals in California in order to unlawfully access the funds in victims’ electronic benefits transfer or “EBT” card, which works like a debit card. Their photos and descriptions can be found below with links to their wanted posters:

• Ilviu-Florin Spiridon, aka “Milan Rasek” aka “Teofil Nowicki”
  DOB: 03/29/1991 Height 5’11” Weight 136: Ilviu-Florin Spiridon

• Ilie-Sebastian-Laur Vasilescu, aka “Fabian Majewski”
  DOB: 7/20/98 Height: 5/9” Weight 198 Ilie-Sebastian-Laur Vasilescu

• Birdal Osman, aka “Ludwik Jasinski”
  DOB: 3/25/81 Height: 5’9” Weight: 189 Birdal Osman

• Bogdan Adrian Purgariu, aka “Simon Bertak” aka “Stephen Sawicki”
  DOB: 5/15/87 Height: 6’2” Weight: 231 Bogdan Adrian Purgariu

• FNU LNU, aka “Walerian Grabowski”
  DOB: 3/7/91 Height: 5’10” Weight: 185 FNU LNU aka Walerian Grabowski

Two additional defendants, Ionut Dragos Munteanu, aka “Nicolay Kalinowski,” and Claudiu Mezinu have already been arrested and are awaiting trial.

The subjects allegedly made and installed skimming devices, often small in size, with the capability to record, store or transmit data. Some of these devices could be installed out of the view of customers inside standalone point of sale terminals (at cash registers or ATMs, for example) and were designed to intercept data from access devices that were swiped. A very small camera was also attached to ATM machines to record customers entering their personal identification numbers (PINs) on the number pad. The information recovered from or transmitted by a skimming device could then be used alone or in conjunction with another access device to incur charges or withdraw funds from a victim’s account without the victim’s consent, knowledge, or authorization.

During the course of the scheme, it is alleged that the subjects requested disbursements totaling more than $220,000 in EBT funds from more than 300 victims' accounts.

The State of California’s Department of Social Services estimates that losses to the Calworks and CalFresh programs since September of 2021 are as follows:

CalWorks (cash): $75,398,202.

CalFresh (food stamps): $23,378, 972.

Anyone with information about the whereabouts of the five fugitives should contact the FBI’s Orange County Financial Crimes Working Group. The FBI can be reached 24 hours a day by calling (310) 477-6565. Tips can also be sent online to tips.fbi.gov.

The FBI’s working group is made up of agencies including the FBI, the Irvine Police Department, the San Diego County Bureau of Public Assistance Investigations, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, and the United States Attorney’s Office.

The case against the defendants is being prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.