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Ventura County authorities are looking for two Romanians who jumped bail after being accused of financial fraud in an investigation by US and Romanian authorities.
The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office said Paul Kinpian (aka Roman Janechek) and Marius Vreek, an affiliate for the Doneanu Organized Crime Group, fled by cutting an ankle monitor after recording a $50,000 bail in 2023.
Paul Kimpian (aka Roman Janecek) and Marius Vlaic are shown in undated photographs provided by the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.
Kimpian and Vlaic were charged with “12 or more felony counts including conspiracy and grand theft” related to several instances of Calworks theft using cloned EBT cards.
Anyone with information about them will be asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.
Irvine police warn of alleged gem-stealing schemes involving Romanian citizens
The Dorneanu group, who is said to have been led by Mihai Dorneanu, has been investigating the “wide-reaching EBT skimming scam” for two years by the Ventura County DA office and the FBI after “the theft of hundreds of millions of dollars at the California Welfare Fund.”
Romanian mob tied to Southern California card skimming scheme
Since 2021, nearly $2.2 million has been lost to EBT skimming scams in Ventura County alone, affecting “some of the county’s most financially vulnerable residents.”
“Our office remains committed to protecting Ventura County residents from fraud and financial exploitation,” District Attorney Eric Nasalenko said at his release. “This study demonstrates the importance of cooperation between local, federal and international law enforcement agencies in dismantling organized crime groups targeting public assistance programs.”
Earlier this month in Romania, 24 search warrant services related to the scheme led to the arrest of 11 people, resulting in the seizure of “EBT cards, electronic components, documents, mobile phones, laptops, heavy cash and devices used on six vehicles.”
Romanian citizens have recently been involved in other criminal acts in Southern California, including a gem switching scheme.
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