One more food stamp scam story, this one with a twist.
From KNSS Radio (Wichita, KS):
In federal court in Wichita, the owner of a small grocery store in Wichita has been indicted on federal charges of harboring an illegal alien who worked in the store.
40-year-old Ahmed Ajami Al-Maleki of Wichita was indicted last month on charges of food stamp fraud. The new indictment charges him with knowingly employing an alien who was unlawfully residing in the United States.
The indictment alleges that starting in October 2010, Al-Maleki hired an employee whose initials are P.V.C. to work at the Kansas Food Market in the 2600 block of N. Arkansas in Wichita, and paid her in cash. The indictment alleges Al-Maleki knew that P.V.C. was an alien who was not lawfully present in the United States. After Al-Maleki was charged with food stamp fraud, he stopped paying her in cash and began paying her by check. The checks had no withholdings for state income taxes, federal income taxes or Social Security payments. When P.V.C. told Al-Maleki she could not cash the first check because she did not have proper identification, he cashed it for her and gave her the money.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture – Office of Inspector General and Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigated the case.
For new readers, this is one of dozens (heck, we could have 50 or so by now!) of stories on immigrant food stamp fraud involving convenience stores and small grocery stores. Use our search function for more.