A trio in Columbus, Ohio, are awaiting their chance to enter a plea to fraud charges after allegedly bilking more than $600,000 from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit program.
It’s not yet known how the group’s scheme worked, but the sweet tooths have been collaborating since July 2024, using stolen SNAP benefit cards to buy thousands of dollars worth of candy, soda, Red Bull and other junk food.
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Ionut Bizga, Doina Maria Bacelan, and Juan Carlos Pagan Hernandez are charged with several counts of criminal activities described as a "pattern of corrupt activity and food stamp fraud," according to an Ohio Department of Public Safety spokesperson, in an interview with WHIO-TV.
The stolen goods were placed in Columbus storage units before being shipped out of state, according to Newsweek. Investigators seized card skimmers, cloned gift cards, credit cards, laptops and cell phones. They are also working to identify further suspects in the case.
While Ohio government officials are working hard to crack down on SNAP fraud, one question remains: Are professional scammers stealing your tax dollars from the program?
A year-long investigation
Bizga first became known to Columbus Police in July 2024 when they cited him for crashing into a city fire hydrant. He was rushed to the hospital, where it was learned that he had no identification. He had Texas plates on his minivan, and an additional set of plates for Virginia was found in the trunk. Bizga was found guilty of driving without a licence and fined $300.
One month later, the Ohio Investigative Unit investigated a tip about stolen SNAP benefits and fake electronic benefit transfer (EBT) transactions were received.
Bizga appeared in court again in May 2025, but the case was postponed until Bizga and Bacelan could be provided with a Romanian interpreter. Bizga is also subject to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold — meaning he was held for an additional 48 hours past his release — according to reports from his initial court appearance.
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How widespread is SNAP fraud?
The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services told ABC News 6 On Your Side that more than $17 million in SNAP benefits have been stolen in the state since summer 2023.
The most recent federal-level study of SNAP found that between 2015 and 2017, benefit trafficking amounted to approximately $1.27 billion in lost funds. The U.S. Government Accountability Office reported that $10.5 billion of the SNAP program’s overall $90.1 billion budget for 2023 was paid improperly, meaning that people received more benefits than they qualified for.
Theft of the program’s EBT cards is the biggest issue for regulators. Between 2023 and 2024, states were directed to use $150 million of federal tax dollars to reimburse SNAP recipients who were victims of skimming, card cloning and other types of fraud.
The situation has caught the attention of Tristan Rader, the representative of the 13th District in the Ohio House of Representatives.
"Tens of thousands of Ohio families have had their SNAP benefits stolen, leaving them without food and putting more pressure on food banks,” he wrote in a LinkedIn post. “I am working to stop this fraud and make sure help gets to those who need it — because no one should go hungry due to a broken system."
Preventing SNAP fraud
The USDA is in the process of upgrading swipe cards with chipped ones to prevent EBT card theft.
In 2023, the Identity Theft Resource Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing fraud, found that SNAP benefits theft accounted for 11% of all government benefits fraud in identity theft cases.
Software company Propel surveyed 1,700 victims of EBT theft and found that half of the victims didn’t know their benefits were stolen. Additionally, 44% of those reported that they had to borrow money or go into debt to buy food after their benefits were gone.
In addition to upgrading to more secure EBT cards, the USDA has also released the [SNAP Fraud Framework] to establish best practices for detecting potential fraud. This framework will likely come under more scrutiny as charges were laid in a landmark fraud and bribery scheme involving a longtime USDA employee in May.
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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
