Irvine ATM sting leads to the arrest of two Anaheim men suspected of stealing from EBT accounts

Over the past few months, the Irvine Police Department’s Investigations Bureau has been investigating a complex county-wide fraud scheme where thieves withdraw Electric Benefit Transfers (EBT) funds shortly after they are deposited into victims’ accounts.

Yesterday, the police conducted a large-scale surveillance operation across Irvine to monitor ATMs.

Detectives observed two men making multiple withdrawals from an ATM near Culver and Walnut. After contacting them, we found they were carrying a lot of money and evidence showing they had made other withdrawals in a nearby city.

Marius Gafei, 41, and Valentin Velicu, 49, of Anaheim, were arrested and booked at Orange County Jail on grand theft and fraud charges. The investigation is on-going.

The last name Gafei is predominantly used in countries such as France and Italy and is most prevalent in France, with 3 occurrences, making it the 144,808th most popular name in the country, according to Nameslook.

The last name Velicu i smost commonly found in Romania, according to Surnam.Es.

By targeting EBT card users these suspects were picking on the neediest people in Orange County.