MIDDLESEX COUNTY, NJ — Authorities have charged ten individuals in connection with a widespread Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card skimming operation that targeted victims across five New Jersey counties as well as locations in New York and Pennsylvania, officials announced.
Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and Highland Park Police Chief Richard Abrams said the group began installing skimming devices at business points of sale in February 2025 to steal personal account information from EBT cardholders. The stolen data was then used to clone debit cards, which the suspects used 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 — face second- and third-degree charges including trafficking in personal identifying information, theft, and financial facilitation of criminal activity.
Search warrants executed by the Highland Park Police Department and the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office uncovered more than 100 cloned EBT cards labeled with PINs and balances, along with skimming and encoding devices and stolen merchandise. Prosecutors estimate the financial loss in New Jersey alone exceeds $25,000.
Following a pretrial hearing on July 10, four defendants — Dumitru, Lautaru, Miclescu, and Degeratu — were ordered held at the County Correctional Center pending trial.
