CALIFORNIA – The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced, August 4, that Marius Marian pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining over $500,000 in EBT funds, illegal reentry after an aggravated felony conviction, and making false statements on his asylum application.
Marian, 39, a Romanian citizen, was charged July 23, 2025, and pleaded guilty to all three counts.
He admitted that from March 2, 2024, through June 3, 2025, he fraudulently obtained EBT funds by using over 601 unique victim EBT account identifiers.
The California Department of Social Services distributes federal EBT benefits.
Marian used skimmers on ATMs and point-of-sale machines to steal victims’ EBT card information. He encoded stolen EBT data onto fake cards to withdraw funds fraudulently from Northern California ATMs.
As a result, Marian withdrew $507,916 and intended to steal $611,845 more in EBT funds. He admitted his scheme was sophisticated and harmed at least 25 victims financially.
Faces up to 30 years for bank fraud
In addition, Marian admitted submitting false asylum statements to Homeland Security around April 27, 2023. He failed to disclose his 2019 bank fraud conviction and prior U.S. deportation.
He later reentered the U.S. illegally.
Marian remains in federal custody. Sentencing is set for October 20, 2025, before U.S. District judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin.
He faces up to 30 years for bank fraud, 10 years for illegal reentry, and 20 years for asylum fraud, along with possible fines.
 announced, August 4, that Marius Marian pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining over $500,000 in EBT funds, illegal reentry after an aggravated felony conviction, and making false statements on his asylum application. ){kind=link}