$343K In MD SNAP Benefits Stolen By Undocumented Immigrant

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — An undocumented immigrant who is a citizen of Romania and Ireland has been sentenced to prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identify theft in Howard County and elsewhere.

According to his plea agreement, Fabritio Sardaru, 22, participated in a conspiracy to defraud the United States and multiple recipients of Electronic Benefit Transfer benefits administered through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

In 2022, Sardaru and his co-conspirators obtained EBT information from victims throughout the U.S., including in Maryland, California, Kentucky, Tennessee, New York and other states. They used skimming devices and other tools to carry out the conspiracy.

Sardaru and his co-conspirators obtained and installed the skimming devices at point of sale terminals at different businesses, then duplicated victims EBT cards using information collected by the machines. They then fraudulently purchased large bulk items using cloned EBT cards containing numerous victims’ personal identifying information.

On July 21, 2022, Sardaru fraudulently netted $8,770.03 in proceeds. Sardaru and a co-conspirator used cloned EBT cards to purchase 11 cans of baby formula at grocery stores in Howard and Montgomery counties. Then on that same day, Montgomery County police officers conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle Sardaru was driving. During the traffic stop, law enforcement uncovered approximately 353 cans of baby formula.

Due to the loss of their SNAP benefits, at least 15 victims were unable to obtain food items until after the replenishment of their funds the following month. The total loss attributed to the conspiracy in Maryland is approximately $343,756.

U.S. District Judge Julie R. Rubin sentenced Sardaru to two years in prison for his role in the SNAP benefits fraud conspiracy.