Whoa, I don’t know what is going on, but maybe the Obama Administration is going after these immigrant food stamp scammers with a vengeance. I don’t think I’ve ever had three stories all in one evening.
TOLEDO, Ohio (WUPW) – The Express Mart on Heatherdowns Boulevard in the south end was busted for food stamp fraud and illegal gambling.
Agents with the Ohio Investigative Unit arrested 30-year-old Mohamed Beyrouti for illegal use of food stamps and telecommunications fraud.
A Gahanna man will spend a year at a halfway house and six months on house arrest for his involvement in a food-stamp trafficking case.
Federal Judge Edmund A. Sargus Jr. handed down the sentence for Shuceeb Geedi yesterday in U.S. District Court in Columbus.
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But Sargus said in court that while Geedi’s offense was serious, he did not organize the scheme and did not own the stores that were involved.
Sargus also sentenced Geedi, a Somali immigrant, to pay $200,000 in restitution.
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Five others involved in the scheme pleaded guilty and were sentenced to six months of house arrest and ordered to pay restitution. Three of them also were sentenced to six months at a halfway house.
Two other defendants remain at large. [store owners?]
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Agents estimated the loss from the scheme to the food-stamp and WIC programs at $500,000.
(WICHITA, Kan.) — Thirteen people have been indicted in a federal crackdown in Wichita on the sale of food benefits for cash.
U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom announced two separate indictments Tuesday involving more than $580,000 in food stamp benefits unlawfully redeemed at two small grocery stores.
The indictments charge the store owners and others with food stamp fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the Agriculture Department.
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One indictment charges Muhammad Qadeer Akram and his wife, Shama Qadeer, as the owners of Alnoor Groceries and Biryani House on East 21st.
Charged in a separate indictment is the owner of Kansas Food Market on North Arkansas, Ahmed Ajami Al-Maleki.
Looks like all three cases involve Muslims. I swear there is a course being taught abroad called Food Stamp Scamming 101 (How to get rich quick and rip off the infidel at the same time) for enterprising Muslim immigrants to America.
Reminder to resettlement agencies—those who sell the food stamps can get arrested too, it’s not just a buyer’s crime!
Readers, you can help expose these scams. I’ve seen it done. If there is an immigrant-run convenience store (or small gas station) in your neighborhood and you see lots of traffic in and out but not that much stuff on the shelves, it’s a dead giveaway. Or, better still see if someone in your neighborhood will tell you if they sell their food stamps for cash, or know someone who does. Then go to your local police authority and report your suspicions. A good police department will then set up a sting and if they find evidence, they know how to bring in the feds. Have patience because the whole operation can take years to bring down.
For more cases, search RRW for ‘food stamp fraud’ or ‘food stamp scams.’ I’ve probably posted dozens of stories and am sorry I never made a category for it—but who knew it would be such a widespread crime.