Florin Duduianu, Identity Theft, California 2023

A brazen identity thief has been brought to justice in Orange County, California. Florin Duduianu, 39, whose last known residence was in Mission Viejo, has been found guilty of stealing victims’ identities to withdraw money from their public-assistance accounts without their permission.

According to the government, Duduianu used the stolen identities to withdraw $1,850 from two separate EBT accounts at a Wells Fargo ATM in Placentia. The victims, who were contacted by police, claimed they did not know Duduianu or his car passenger and did not give permission to anyone to withdraw funds from their accounts.

Police saw Duduianu, accompanied by a passenger, drive up to the ATM in August 2023 and make multiple withdrawals on different cards. Based on this information, officers pulled Duduianu over and found four Visa gift cards, three Wells Fargo ATM receipts, and $1,850 in cash in the passenger’s possession.

During a search of Duduianu’s cellphone, law enforcement found dozens of photos and videos related to ATM skimming as well as tools and techniques used to skim EBT information. Phone records and EBT records showed that the phone was used to check the balance of the EBT accounts of the victims in this case, five days before Duduianu withdrew $1,850 from those same accounts.

Duduianu previously pleaded guilty on January 5 to three counts of bank fraud and unlawful use of unauthorized access devices. He now faces a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison for each bank fraud count, up to 20 years in federal prison for the unauthorized access devices count, and a mandatory two-year prison sentence consecutive to his underlying sentence for each aggravated identity theft count.

Judge John W. Holcomb scheduled a March 29 sentencing hearing. The FBI and the Placentia Police Department investigated this matter. Assistant United States Attorneys David Y. Pi of the Major Frauds Section and Diane B. Roldán of the General Crimes Section are prosecuting this case.

Related Federal Cases