Florin Serdaru, 29, was sentenced to 39 months in federal prison for his role in a large-scale Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) fraud scheme that stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in benefits from recipients across multiple states, including Maryland.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, 29-year-old Florin Serdaru was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Julie R. Rubin 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 restitution and forfeit $91,873.52.
Prosecutors said Serdaru and his co-conspirators used skimming devices to steal Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card information from SNAP recipients in Maryland and several other states. The stolen information was used to create cloned EBT cards that allowed the group to make fraudulent purchases of bulk items at retailers including Sam’s Club and BJ’s Wholesale.
Investigators linked Serdaru to multiple wholesale club accounts created under aliases, including “Florin Florea” and “Alex Stan.” Authorities said those accounts were used to make hundreds of fraudulent SNAP purchases using more than 370 unique EBT cards belonging to victims across multiple states.
The investigation found the conspiracy caused approximately $343,756 in losses in Maryland alone. At least 15 victims temporarily lost access to their food assistance benefits and were unable to purchase groceries until their monthly benefits were restored.
The case also has ties to Montgomery County. On July 21, 2022, Montgomery County Police officers conducted a traffic stop involving co-conspirator Fabritio Sardaru after he and another conspirator allegedly used cloned EBT cards to purchase baby formula in Howard and Montgomery counties. Officers recovered approximately 353 cans of baby formula from the vehicle.
Fabritio Sardaru, 22, was previously sentenced to two years in federal prison. Another co-conspirator, 22-year-old Maria Roza Tomescu, was sentenced to 28 months in prison for her role in the conspiracy.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General, the Montgomery County Police Department, and the Howard County Police Department.
