January 7, 2025
Dublin, CA— The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office has charged three co-defendants, Mate Catalin (34), Dennis Ionescu (42), and Maria Tudor (29), with multiple felonies for an alleged large-scale fraud operation using Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards to withdraw thousands of dollars from the accounts of at least ten victims.
The three co-defendants are charged with one count of fraudulent possession of personal information, one count of grand theft, and one count of theft by fraudulent access card, all felonies. It is further alleged that the manner in which the crime was carried out indicates planning, sophistication, or professionalism. The complaint also alleges the three defendants did with intent to defraud use for the purpose of obtaining money, goods, services, and anything else of value, an access card and access card account information that had been altered, obtained, and retained, and an access card with knowledge that it was forged, expired, and revoked. It is further alleged that the value of all money, goods, services, and other things of value so obtained exceeded $950 in a consecutive six-month period.
The criminal complaint stems from a joint investigation with federal law enforcement and the Fremont Police Department on or about January 2, 2025, in which the defendants were allegedly observed fraudulently using the personal identifying information of multiple EBT card users to withdraw cash from several ATM machines using cloned EBT cards in Fremont.
Mate Catalin, Dennis Ionescu, and Maria Tudor were arraigned on Monday, January 6, 2025, at the East County Hall of Justice in Dublin. If convicted and sentenced of all charges, the three defendants each face up to three years in prison.
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Contact: damedia@acgov.org
The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office (ACDAO) is one of the largest prosecutor’s offices in the State of California. Our office receives more than 40,000 cases presented by law enforcement for charging each year. The ACDAO has 9 locations, 150 Attorneys, 35 Victim-Witness Advocates, 75 Inspectors, and 130 Operations Staff Members who are committed to administering justice for every person who lives, works, or plays in Alameda County, no matter their race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, income, or zip code