ARVIN, Calif. (KERO) — Police say they are cracking down on EBT fraudulent activity happening all over the county and this type of crime is no stranger here in Arvin.
- Arvin police are intensifying efforts against EBT fraud linked to skimming devices.
- In 2023, three suspects were arrested for installing a skimmer at La Mexicana Bakery.
- Surveillance footage captured the suspects tampering with the card reader while distracting a cashier.
- Two arrested suspects skipped bail before their court appearance; the third suspect remains unidentified.
- Residents are advised to check card terminals for tampering before making payments.
For your convenience, the skimmable summary above is generated with the assistance of AI and fact checked by our team prior to publication. Read the full story as originally reported below.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Law enforcement has seen a rash of thieves stealing funds from EBT accounts using skimming devices. It happened here in Arvin as well. Yet when the suspects were to be in court, they were nowhere to be found, apparently skipping bail.
According to La Mexicana Bakery's owner, in 2023, a group of men installed a skimming device on one of their card readers.
Surveillance video from that day shows three individuals approaching one of the store's cashiers, Monica Rocha to checkout. While one of the suspects pulls her to the side, the other individual is seen tampering with the card reader, AND the third subject waits at the end of the line.
"You're looking at identity theft and then you're also looking at accessing someone else's credit cards, stealing someone's identity by utilizing card skimming devices," explained Arvin Chief of Police Alex Ghazalpour.
That night, Rocha says they were cleaning the register when the store owner's son noticed something unusual about the card reader.
"He noticed it because he was trying to clean the card processor. He noticed that it wasn't the same as the other one," said Rocha.
Days later, Rocha says two of the suspects returned to the store to pick up the device and were arrested by Arvin PD.
The suspects were identified as Trofin Tudor Constantin and Stanciu Razvan Alexandru—both of Romanian descent. The third suspect has yet to be found and identified.
"Several crews have been identified, it's an international crew that's typically not so webbed into the county. This isn't a local crime," said Ghazalpour.
But When the two suspects were to be in court, they were nowhere to be found, apparently skipping bail. According to Ghazalpour, Constantin later committed the same type of crime in the San Diego area and was re-arrested.
"They have multiple identities, with multiple cards, and multiple driver's licenses, they live and breathe in this criminal conspiracy world," stated Ghazalpour.
And this is an issue happening countywide, particularly involving EBT cards. According to the District Attorney's Office in November 2024, investigators seized over 15 million dollars obtained from fraudulent credit cards, burglary tools, and devices that also resulted in three arrests.
Most recently, the DA arrested Norbert Kabara who is facing felony charges for money laundering, grand theft, identity theft, theft by false pretense, and fraudulent use of credit cards.
"It's so widespread that I don't think any agency has the resources to be able to spend this much time to be able to work these cases from start to finish," said Ghazalpour.
Remember, if you pay with any type of card, be careful. Make sure the terminal you use to make a payment has not been tampered with.
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