San Diego man gets two years in prison for stealing $180K from low-income families

A man who took more than $180,000 from low-income families through a scheme that involved installing card-skimming devices on ATMs and point-of-sale terminals was sentenced in San Diego federal court Friday to two years in prison.

Razvan Alexander Balu is one of more than 50 defendants charged by federal prosecutors with stealing money from victims’ CalWORKS benefit accounts. The CalWORKS program helps disadvantaged families with at least one child pay for rent, housing, food, clothing, medical payments, and utilities.

According to a prosecution sentencing memo, Balu tried to take at least $227,570 from at least 212 victims’ EBT accounts and successfully withdrew $181,390. His plea agreement states that the thefts occurred over the course of just over one month.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said victims hailed from across the state, including San Diego, Fresno, Los Angeles, Kern, Kings, and Tulare counties.

Along with prison, Balu was ordered to pay $181,390 in restitution.

The majority of the other defendants charged in the scheme have been sentenced. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the defendants “are collectively responsible for stealing at least $4 million from the EBT accounts of hundreds of California victims, including scores of San Diego County residents.”