Feds Confirm Most of the 40 Charged in Oregon's $3 Million Food Stamp Theft Rings Are Illegal Immigrants

Most of the 40 people charged with stealing more than $3 million in food stamp benefits in Oregon are in the country illegally. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon confirmed that to The Post Millennial's Katie Daviscourt, who broke the story Thursday.

The Trump Justice Department laid out the cases Wednesday in Portland: at least 40 people charged, more than $3 million in stolen benefits, 11 brand-new indictments and a string of prison sentences, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

How the scam worked

Thieves hid small "skimmers" on store checkout machines. When a family swiped its food stamp card, the device copied the card number and PIN. The crews then drained those accounts to buy infant formula, energy drinks and other food in bulk across Oregon, Washington and California, prosecutors say.

The goods were stockpiled in houses and storage units, then trucked or shipped to California and sold on the black market, the DOJ said. One crew ran shipments from a storage unit in Vancouver, Washington, to one in San Pedro, California, according to court records cited by The Post Millennial. The real families found out when their cards came up empty at the register.

The three sets of cases

The $2.4 million ring: In October 2024, 17 people were charged after they allegedly bought more than 120,000 pounds of goods with stolen benefits from August 2023 to October 2024, the DOJ said. The accused ringleader, Ramirez Dumitru, 25, is a Romanian national who was living illegally in Gresham, Oregon, The Post Millennial reported. Members of the theft crew were mostly "Romanian nationals unlawfully present in the United States," the Justice Department said. Twelve have been sentenced to a combined 157 months in prison. Two more are set for sentencing in December, per the DOJ, and the last three are headed to trial. Many of those convicted have already been deported, the office told The Post Millennial. Transport-crew leader Ana Escalante got 27 months and must repay $2.4 million.

The $700,000 ring: In November 2025, a grand jury charged Romanian national Alexandru Telescu, 29, and 11 others, prosecutors said. In one stretch alone, his crew allegedly ran about 231 stolen-card purchases worth roughly $102,000 through a Sam's Club account, and he helped plant a skimmer in a Tigard store, the IRS said. Federal agents described him as living in the U.S. unlawfully. Telescu pleaded guilty Sept. 29 to access-device fraud and aggravated identity theft and will be sentenced Jan. 28, 2027. Those charges carry up to 10 years, plus a mandatory two more for identity theft. Most of his co-defendants are illegal immigrants from Romania who face deportation, The Post Millennial reported.

The new cases: Bly Gnionsiekan Rodoophe Kehi was indicted Oct. 7, accused of planting skimmers on payment machines in Washington County. Ten more people were charged in September and October for about $143,000 in alleged thefts, the DOJ said.

Who cracked it

USDA's Inspector General, IRS Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Marshals and local police all worked the cases, the DOJ said. Bradford said the White House told his office to make SNAP fraud a priority. "They've given us additional resources," he said, per KATU. It's part of the nationwide crackdown by Vice President Vance's fraud task force, which UNGA covered here.

"If you steal from SNAP recipients, if you skim EBT cards, if you run fraud schemes that target our most vulnerable, your time is up," Bradford said. "This is just the beginning," per KGW.

Oregon left the door open

Oregon ranks third in the nation for SNAP fraud, Bradford said, because its cards still have no security chip, The Post Millennial reported. "Our cards are not chipped," he said. "Fraudsters will continue to target Oregon," per KOBI.

Gov. Tina Kotek's administration didn't propose paying for chip cards until January 2026, at a cost of about $12 million, KGW reported. Taxpayers have already covered $2.2 million in stolen Oregon benefits over roughly two years, KGW reported. Hours after Wednesday's press conference, the state announced a chip-card test for just 1,000 people in December, with everyone else waiting until early 2027, KXL reported.

Everyone not yet convicted is presumed innocent. For the 40 already charged, the feds have made their point: steal from America's poorest families, and you'll answer for it.