New readers probably want to know what food stamp fraud has to do with refugees—-not much except that refugees use a lot of food stamps and the subject interests me.
As a matter of fact, according to the 2008 Office of Refugee Resettlement Annual Report to Congress(p.93), food stamp use is at 50% (in 2008) for all refugees, but at 61% for Middle Eastern refugees. Could they have figured out how to turn their food privileges into cold hard cash (and guns!).
Here we have several Mohammed’s indicted in Ohio for food stamp fraud—Millions of dollars worth this time!
From the Dayton Daily News:
DAYTON — A federal grand jury indicted two men on food stamp fraud and other felony charges in connection to alleged illegal trafficking activities at several Dayton businesses that resulted in police raiding those stores in May.
The indictments — unsealed last week by the U.S. District Court Southern District of Ohio — show charges were filed against Mohammed Zaid, who owns A&M Meats at 1609 Gilsey Ave., and Mohammed Qaqa, an employee at Food City, 1829 Germantown St.
[….]
Al-Idu Al-Gaheem, the owner of Cup of Dreams and Five Pillars Market and a local imam, allegedly received more than $2.5 million in food stamp reimbursements from the federal government, between $890,000 and nearly $2 million of which was from “unexplained” food stamp charges, according to an IRS agent’s affidavit in support of seizing Al-Gaheem’s bank account.
New meaning for phrase guns or butter:
During a 13-month period, Qaqa, 29, is accused of selling 11 handguns to a confidential police informant while he worked at Food City. Qaqa allegedly sold the guns in exchange for $1,220 in cash and $390 worth of food stamps, according to the indictment.
For more on food stamp fraud just type those three words into our search function and you will find dozens of posts on immigrant food stamp fraud—the big stuff, turning cards into cash/sending money to the Middle East. I’m not interested in the petty stuff. And, my fervent hope is that one day a real investigative reporter will come on the scene who will expose the convenience store food stamp scams—how for instance are all these little stores being bought up by Middle Easterners?