Assistance by California Department of Social Services Investigations Branch
“Great work by local and DSS investigators in arresting three individuals suspected of EBT card fraud. This type of fraud is an attack on individual victims as well as publicly funded programs designed to help those who need it.”
– CSLEA President Alan Barcelona
BAKERSFIELD – On April 10, 2025, Kern County District Attorney’s Office investigators, with assistance from investigators from the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office, California Department of Social Services Investigations Branch, and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, served a search warrant at the 8300 block of White Oak Avenue in Northridge.
The Kern County District Attorney’s Office was investigating large-scale Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card fraud in Kern County. While searching the residence, investigators found evidence of an ongoing conspiracy to commit EBT fraud. Card skimming and pinhole camera components, card readers, cloned access cards, and over $40,000.00 in US currency were seized.
Norbert Karaba, 34, Nicolae Bud, 51, and Giorgio Marcelo, 29, all of Northridge were arrested on numerous fraud and conspiracy charges and booked into the Kern County Jail.
Norbert Karaba has a current pending case in Kern County (BF202622A) relating to EBT fraud. Karaba’s charges stem from an arrest made by the District Attorney’s Office on December 2, 2024, after investigators monitored EBT activity in the South Bakersfield area and identified Karaba as the subject withdrawing funds from the ATM. Investigators seized 78 cloned EBT cards and cash totaling $63,952. Prior to his arrest, Karaba was out of custody on a $200,000 bail.
District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer said, “I cannot stress this enough – if you are an individual exploiting vulnerable families, know that this office has intensified its efforts to address these crimes. Such actions are not only damaging our community, but are also harming innocent victims. We are fully committed to combatting EBT fraud in Kern County, and we are all hands-on deck to put an end to it.”
