Florin Serdaru, 29, was sentenced to 39 months in federal prison for his role in a massive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) fraud scam that stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in benefits from beneficiaries in several states, including Maryland.
According to the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, 29-year-old Florin Serdaru was sentenced to 39 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. He was also ordered to pay $343,756 in reparation and give up $91,873.52.
Prosecutors claim Serdaru and his co-conspirators utilized skimming devices to obtain Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card information from SNAP users in Maryland and many other states. The stolen information was used to manufacture cloned EBT cards, allowing the group to make fraudulent bulk purchases at stores including Sam’s Club and BJ’s Wholesale.
Serdaru was linked to various wholesale club accounts formed under aliases, including “Florin Florea” and “Alex Stan.” Authorities said those accounts were used to make hundreds of fraudulent SNAP transactions with over 370 different EBT cards belonging to victims in several jurisdictions.
The inquiry determined that the scheme resulted in about $343,756 in losses in Maryland alone. At least 15 victims temporarily lost access to their food assistance benefits, preventing them from purchasing groceries until their monthly benefits were restored.
The case has ties to Montgomery County. On July 21, 2022, Montgomery County Police officers performed a traffic stop on co-conspirator Fabritio Sardaru after he and another conspirator reportedly used cloned EBT cards to buy baby formula in Howard and Montgomery counties. Officers found roughly 353 cans of infant formula in the truck.
Fabritio Sardaru, 22, was already sentenced to two years in federal prison. Another conspirator, 22-year-old Maria Roza Tomescu, was sentenced to 28 months in prison for her involvement in the conspiracy.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General, the Montgomery County Police Department, and the Howard County Police Department all investigated the matter.
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