Food Stamp Fraud: 12 Charged With $20M In Fraud

Eric Scheiner | October 11, 2017
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Twelve retail storeowners, operators, and clerks, have been charged in connection with food stamp schemes in the state of Florida.

Earlier this month the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Florida announced indictments alleging that some area retailers received more than $20 million in federal payments for food stamp transactions in which they did not provide any food.

“The USDA-OIG conducts hundreds of criminal investigations relating to SNAP fraud across the nation each year. In this instance, eight small convenience stores in south Florida committed a staggering amount of fraud in a relatively short amount of time. These retailers created an illegal benefits exchange system that defrauded the American taxpayer and denied healthy foods to needy children and their families,” Acting United States Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg said.

According to some of the indictments listed below, the defendants owned, operated, or worked at stores in the Southern District of Florida that were authorized to accept SNAP. In other indictments, the defendants owned, operated, or worked at stores in the Southern District of Florida who were not authorized to accept SNAP but instead unlawfully utilized the POS terminals of authorized retailers for electronic benefit (EBT) transfers.

The four cases from the U.S. Attorney’s Office Southern District of Florida:

 1. States v. Hasan Saleh, et al.

According to the indictment, Hasan Saleh, 59, managed a convenience store, Four Corners, located at 821 Northwest 6th Street, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Despite not being authorized to participate in SNAP, Four Corners employees, including Saleh, were involved in a scheme in which they exchanged food stamp benefits for cash. These transactions were carried out using equipment registered to the convenience store Sparkle, located at 6530 NW 18th Avenue, Miami, Florida. Defendant Mohammad Alobaisi, 37, was the sole officer, director, and registered agent of Sparkle. Additionally, employees of Sparkle participated in the scheme by exchanging food stamp benefits for cash. Between April 2015 and August 2017, Saleh and Alobaisi, together with their employees, Reynold Francois, 38, Ihab Hassouna, 44, Mohammad Alteen, 33, Maria Jerdana, 36, and Joe Ann Baker, 56, redeemed and caused to be redeemed approximately $2 million in EBT food stamp benefits from the FNS.

 

  1. United States v. Yousef Homedan Zahran

On September 20, 2017, Yousef Homedan Zahran, a/k/a “Yuousef Hussein,” a/k/a “Joe,” 60, of Pompano Beach, was charged by complaint in connection with a food stamp fraud scheme. According to court documents, Zahran, worked as a clerk at a convenience store, Muna & Mona Inc., d/b/a Community Food Store #5, located at 401 NW 27th Avenue, in Pompano Beach, Florida. On multiple occasions between November 3, 2016, and January 11, 2017, Zahran illegally sold food stamp benefits in exchange for cash.

 

  1. United States v. Omar Hajje and Jalal Hajyousef

According to the indictment, Omar Hajje, 43, of Miami, and Jalal Hajyousef, 42, of Miami, owned and operated convenience and grocery stores in Miami known as Steve Market 2 and Yum-Yum’s Grocery, located at 6804 NW 15th Avenue and 6813 NW 15th Ave in Miami, respectively. Omar Hajje applied for and obtained authorization for each of the two stores to participate in SNAP. From July 2014 through the date of the indictment, September 2017, Omar Hajje and Jalal Hajyousef were involved in a fraud and money laundering conspiracy in which they exchanged food stamp benefits for cash and fraudulently redeemed approximately $4.2 million in EBT food stamp benefits. Hajje and Hajyousef laundered the fraud proceeds through various accounts, by writing cashier’s checks, and by converting EBT funds to cash.

 

  1. United States v. Andy Javier Herrera and Javier Herrera

According to the indictment, Andy Javier Herrera, 24, of Little Havana, owned a small grocery store, Santa Ana Market II, located at 1832 NW 17th Ave., Miami, Florida. Herrera applied for, and obtained, authorization to participate in SNAP. Javier Herrera, 49, of Coral Way, was a clerk that worked at both Santa Ana Market II, and a nearby convenience store named Santa Ana Market, located at 3000 NW 12th Avenue, Miami, Florida. Between April 2012 and September 2017, Andy Herrera and Javier Herrera were involved in a scheme in which they exchanged food stamp benefits for cash. During that time, Andy Herrera and Javier Herrera fraudulently redeemed approximately $10,000,000 in EBT food stamp benefits.

 

If convicted of the charged conduct, a defendant faces a possible maximum statutory sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment for conspiracy to commit wire fraud; 20 years’ imprisonment for wire fraud; and 5 years’ imprisonment for food stamp/EBT fraud.

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