Day: September 7, 2013

Immigrant welfare fraudster sentenced in Portland, ME

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Jail for two months then supervised release!

This is an update of a story we first reported back in May about Dafle Abdullahi Ali (we think he is Somali but my search just now for any reference to his nationality or a photo turned up nothing).

Maine the welfare magnet! Once again there is no photo readily available of the criminal in the case, so we resort to illustrating this post with what the mainstream media uses when they want to hide a criminal’s nationality—some innocuous photo.

Here is the news from the Sun Journal (hat tip: Michael):

PORTLAND (AP) — A Portland man who pleaded guilty to making false statements to obtain Medicaid, foods stamps and federal housing assistance funds while drawing a six-figure salary is going to prison for two months.

A judge also ordered Dafle Abdullahi Ali to pay restitution and sentenced him to two years of supervised release.

Prosecutors said Ali received MaineCare benefits and food stamps from 2008 and 2009 while he was owner of Home Health Care Solutions, which provided home-based care to the elderly and disabled. Prosecutors say he was making more than $100,000 a year but told the state he was making about $36,000 a year.

Judge D. Brock Hornby said Ali’s crimes were not victimless, noting that others who were truly needy were denied services because of the defendant’s actions.

For a better understanding of what the crook did to rip-off the infidels, see the May press release from the US Attorney’s Office in Maine.  You will see too that ICE was involved in the investigation—so what is his immigration status?  They never tell us!

 According to court records, in 2008 and 2009, Ali was an owner of and the director of
finance for Home Health Care Solutions, a Portland company that provided home based personal
care services to the elderly and disabled under the Maine Medicaid (MaineCare)
program. During that period, Ali also received MaineCare benefits and food stamps. On
February 19, 2009, Ali signed a form that he submitted to the Maine Department of Health and
Human Services (MDHHS) certifying that his joint income was only $1,382.50, paid bi-weekly
(about $36,000 per year), and that he only owned one bank account with a $1.00 balance. In
fact, Ali received more than $100,000 per year in income and had $48,000 in four bank
accounts.

Between August 2006 to November 2008, Ali and his family resided in a public housing
unit administered by the Portland Housing Authority (PHA). The U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development (HUD) paid a portion of Ali’s rent based on a formula that considered
the amount of income and assets reported by Ali to PHA. Over that period, Ali underreported
his income and assets to PHA and illegally received over $22,000 in rent subsidies.

According to U.S. Attorney Delahanty, Ali fraudulently received and stole about $46,585
in MaineCare, food stamps and HUD benefits. Ali faces up to 5 years in prison on the false
statement charge, up to 10 years on the theft charge, and fines of up to $250,000 on each
charge. He will be sentenced after completion of a pre-sentence investigation report by the U.S.
Probation Office.

So much for a stiff sentence for Mr. Ali!

For new readers, this 2009 post about Maine as the welfare magnet for Somalis is one of our most-read posts of all time.

Providence RI: Nine indicted for food stamp fraud; three Mohamads in the bunch

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

The Mohammed/Mohamad coefficient in this story from Rhode Island is high, but it also includes some Hispanics among those charged (which is something I haven’t seen very often).  Thanks to ‘pungentpeppers,’ who is finding some great (if you can call them ‘great’, you know what I mean) immigrant crime stories for us, for spotting this one on Thursday.

From the Providence Journal which published this illustrative graphic that the US Attorney used to show those of us who don’t have a criminal mind how the scam works (right).

PROVIDENCE — A two-year federal investigation into food-stamp fraud has resulted in nine merchants involved withfive convenience stores in the city being charged in connection with the theft of more than $3 million from the program designed to provide food to many of the state’s neediest residents.

Peter F. Neronha, U.S. Attorney for the District of Rhode Island, announced at a news conference Thursday with a host of other federal and state officials the charges involving the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, otherwise known as SNAP.

The merchants allegedly allowed food-stamp recipients to trade their benefits for cash. In exchange, the merchants are accused of adding a substantial surcharge for the illegal service, frequently as much as the cash that was dispensed. Under federal law, food stamps are not allowed to be used to get cash, tobacco products or other goods that do not provide nutritional benefits.

“Some chose to line their own pockets to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars at the taxpayers’ expense,” Neronha said.

Naming names:

The businesses are Corner Store, 549B Broad St.; Regency Mart, 3 Regency Plaza; Stop & Go Inc., 776 Douglas Ave.; Dugout, 97 Burnside St.; and Cristina’s Market, 524 Smith St.

Arrested are Mustafa Al Kabouni, 52, of Cranston; Mohamad Barbour, 53, of North Providence; Mohamad Amir Al Kabouni, 43, of North Providence; and Mohamad Eid Al Kabouni, 22, of Cranston. The Kabounis and Barbour owned or ran Regency Mart and Corner Store.

Also, Amir Rasheed, 33, of Flushing, N.Y.; Karuna Mehta, 43, of North Smithfield; Cristina Ramirez, 37, of Providence; Glena Lopez, 39, of West Warwick; and Farhan Mustafa, 37, of Providence.

Rasheed is owner of Stop & Go, while Mehta managed the store. Ramirez owns Cristina’s Market. Mustafa is accused of falsely filing an application with the government for the food-stamp program claiming that his corporation owned the Corner Store.

They have all been indicted by a federal grand jury or charged through information filings in connection with fraud.

As is the usual case, the story has nothing about the immigration status of the perps.  Someone really needs to figure out through what program(s) all of these immigrants are using to set up the convenience stores.  I don’t think its a coincidence that ‘Mom & Pop’ groceries are increasingly owned/managed by foreign interests.

Tied to cigarette smuggling?  The Providence Journal continued:

In recent years, the state police and federal authorities have arrested operators of convenience stores in Providence on charges that they have illegally imported cigarettes from out of state and sold them illegally. Cigarettes have high taxes in Rhode Island and they are among the most expensive packs and cartons in the country. As a result, stores smuggle them into the state, sell them and make big profits.

Neronha did not provide specifics, but said he believes there is some “cross-over” between the food-stamp fraud and cigarette-smuggling operations.

Where to report possible food stamp fraud in you town?

Click here for instructions.

For more on food stamp fraud (a side interest here at RRW) go here.