News Releases

Ioannis Alecsopoulos allegedly stole thousands of dollars in public benefits using fraudulent EBT cards

LANCASTER, CA – Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman today announced that a 27-year-old man has been charged with stealing thousands of dollars in California public assistance benefits using fraudulent Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards at an ATM in Lancaster. The discovery was made as District Attorney Investigators from LADA’s Bureau of Investigation were conducting an EBT Anti-Skimming Operation on February 1.

“EBT theft cruelly robs vulnerable individuals of the public benefits they are legally entitled to,” said District Attorney Hochman. “In addition to directly taking critical financial assistance away from children, families, and the elderly, public assistance fraud steals from taxpayers. Our Office will continue to vigilantly investigate and prosecute these cases and hold offenders fully accountable for their criminal actions. We are also working closely with victims and the LA County Department of Public Social Services to return the stolen benefits.”

Ioannis Alecsopoulos (DOB 11/20/97) is charged in case 25CJCF00597 with 10 counts of felony identity theft; three counts of felony grand theft; and one misdemeanor charge of obstructing a law enforcement officer. He also faces aggravating circumstances that the victims were particularly vulnerable, and the offenses involved planning and sophistication.

On February 1, District Attorney Investigators apprehended Alecsopoulos during the EBT Anti-Skimming Operation. Alecsopoulos allegedly withdrew over $4,000 and attempted to withdraw over $13,000 from an ATM at a bank in Lancaster using nine different fraudulent EBT cards. He allegedly used electronic devices known as skimmers to steal the EBT account information. Investigators also recovered other items associated with EBT skimming operations, including nine skimming devices, 94 re-encoded gift cards, and eight pinhole cameras.

Alecsopoulos was arraigned on February 4 in Dept. 30 of the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center and bail was increased to $500,000 at the People’s request. The defense requested a bail review and source of bail motion to be heard on February 10 in Dept. 37. A preliminary hearing is set for February 19 in Dept. 37.

If convicted as charged, he faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in state prison.

The case is being prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Jessica Palasik of the Office’s Public Assistance Fraud Division and investigated by the Office’s Bureau of Investigation.

In the past year, the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has reported more than $100 million in stolen funds from California victims’ EBT cards. The majority of illicit cashouts in the past year occurred in Los Angeles County.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office urges EBT card holders to watch out for scams involving texting, card skimming, and fake emails, links, and websites. Know that the County or state will never request your EBT card number and PIN. Card holders should lock their cards and change their PIN at the end of each month and cover card numbers when using an ATM or point-of-sale terminal. For tips on how to spot EBT scams, skimming devices, and pinhole cameras, watch this CDSS video.

In addition to the arrest and charges filed against Alecsopoulos, Homeland Security Investigations Los Angeles’ El Camino Real Financial Crimes Task Force, including LADA and other partners, arrested 11 foreign nationals, recovered over 300 cloned EBT cards, and recovered more than $30,000 in cash during an anti-EBT theft operation on February 1 and 2. Read the Homeland Security Investigations news release.

The charges filed in this case are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

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