Kern County prosecutors said in court this week that a Romanian gypsy church in Southern California is bailing out the recent string of EBT thieves in the county.
The backstory: Last week Romanian man Bogdan Boceanu was arrested in Delano for running a skimming operation with fraudulent EBT cards.
- Two other Romanians had also been previously arrested for card skimming.
The big picture: Kern County Superior Court Judge Andrew Kendall denied Boceanu’s bail since he is a threat to the community and a flight risk.
- Boceanu’s bail sponsor was from Riverside County, the same as the two other Romanians.
- Kern County Prosecutor Anthony Yim said the three Romanians had their bail sponsored by Romanian Gypsy Church in Riverside.
- The other two Romanians have failed to appear in court after they bailed out of jail.
What he’s saying: “There’s a continued investigation, he may or may not be involved in other thefts involving EBT cards,” Kendall said, according to KGET. “The court finds there is clear evidence that he’s a danger to the public. Court finds clear, convincing evidence that he’s a flight risk…set his bail at no bail.”
