Ringleader Ramirez Dumitro, along with sixteen other co-conspirators, were arrested and arraigned on October 22, 2024, for conspiring to defraud the United States and the Oregon Department of Human Services of a multi-million dollar scheme in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) purchases. Every dollar stolen from SNAP benefits is a dollar that could have fed a child in need. But Dumitro was not the kind of fraudster to let children’s hunger stop him.
From August 2023 to October 2024, Ramirez Dumitru and his co-conspirators are alleged to have possessed skimming devices. Technologically simple yet elusive. Which resulted in more than $2.4 million dollars being stolen from SNAP participants Electronic Benefits Transfer EBT) accounts. Ringleader Dumitru used the stolen benefits to purchase large quantities of infant formula, energy drinks, and other SNAP-eligible nonperishable food items from grocery stores in Oregon, Washington, and California. Even through websites associated with grocery stores offering curb-side pickup. Who knew it was so convenient to commit fraud!
Dumitro was no Robin Hood in this scheme. Over the course of the conspiracy, he purchased more than 120,000 pounds of goods and stored them at residential properties and storage units in Oregon and Washington until they were repackaged and transported to California in private vehicles or via commercial carriers. These fraudulent obtained goods were then allegedly sold on the black market.
Shout out to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office who are working relentlessly to dismantle organized skimming operations, like Dumotro’s, who scheme to cheat a system that is designed to help families and children who need assistance the most.
Today’s Fraud of The Day is based on article “$2.4M SNAP fraud case leads to multiple arrests” published by Cannon Beach Gazette on October 25, 2024
SNAP is a federal program that provides food assistance to approximately 1 million eligible, low-income families and individuals in Oregon, including many older adults and people with disabilities.
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Following a multiple law enforcement agency investigation, 17 people are facing federal charges for conspiring to defraud the United States of more than $2.4 million in fraudulent Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) purchases, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon has announced. A coordinated, multi-agency law enforcement operation was conducted Tuesday, Oct. 22, to dismantle the interstate fraud organization that used skimming devices and stolen Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) accounts to purchase SNAP-eligible products for resale on the black market.