Pair accused of using ‘fraudulent’ EBT cards to withdraw thousands

LOS ANGELES – Two West Covina men were arrested for allegedly using fraudulent government benefit cards to withdraw cash from banks in Apple Valley.

Sorin Costache, 24, and Adinis Mackis, 32, were arrested at about 6 a.m. Wednesday morning near Apple Valley and Bear Valley roads, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department .

That morning, detectives had been monitoring three banks where they believed the theft of benefits had occurred when they spotted Costache and Mackis.

The pair was pulled over, at which point investigators discovered that Costache and Mackis had been withdrawing thousands in cash, authorities said.

“The operation resulted in the arrest of these two individuals and the recovery of fraudulent EBT cards, along with approximately $17,000 in cash,” the release said.

Both were booked into the High Desert Detention Center on charges of unauthorized access of card information, grand theft and money laundering.

Mackis’s bail was set at $30,000. Costache, a Romanian national, was deemed a flight risk, so his bail was set at $350,000.

Both are due to appear in San Bernardino Superior Court on Friday.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Investigator Flores at 909-252-4365, Detective Gates at 760-240-7400 or Sheriff’s Dispatch at 760-956-5001. To report information anonymously, call WeTip at 1-800-78CRIME (27463) or visit wetip.com .

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