Longtime readers know we follow food stamp fraud busts as a side interest here at RRW—specifically busts involving convenience stores run by immigrants (which is most of them!).
Here is an indictment from last week in Illinois, but surprisingly this US Attorney’s Office press release is devoid of one of the major items we normally see—-by how much did this threesome (apparently Middle Easterners) rip-off the US taxpayer? And, of course virtually never mentioned is the immigration status of the accused.
The United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today that Alaa K. Jaber (a/k/a “Ace”), 27, of Hazelwood, Missouri, Rami M. Abou Amra (a/k/a “Lucky”), 35, of Troy, Illinois, and Albraa K. Sabrah (a/k/a “Roy”), 25, of Bridgeton Missouri, were each indicted by the federal grand jury on charges that they stole Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or “SNAP” (f/k/a Food Stamp) benefits while working at quick shop stores in East St. Louis, Illinois.
The three indictments allege that during varying times from 2010 through 2012, the defendants illegally paid customers cash in exchange for SNAP benefits. Jaber was charged in five counts; Abou Amra and Sabrah were each charged in three counts. Each count carries a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison, a $10,000 fine, and up to 3 years of supervised release.
Hurray for the Sioux Falls, SD Argus Leader which has sued the US Dept. of Agriculture for failing to release certain data under the Freedom of Information Act involving how much taxpayer money is going to what stores.
By the way, one of the ways the feds investigate allegations of food stamp fraud is to note a record over several years of how much a store redeems in food stamps. For example, maybe a store a few years ago redeemed a couple of thousand in a month then all of a sudden the same store jumps to $100,000 a month (I’ve made up these figures, but you get the idea).
Here is the news about the Argus Leader’s court case (emphasis is mine):
ST. PAUL — A three-judge panel will decide whether the payments businesses receive for participating in the federal food stamp program should remain secret.
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday heard a case brought by the Argus Leader against the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps. The Argus Leader sued the department in 2011 after it refused a Freedom of Information Act request to supply the yearly amounts that taxpayers have paid grocers, gas stations and other businesses each year that participate in SNAP.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Bengford, who represented USDA, argued that Congress specifically exempted the release of SNAP payments to businesses when it authorized the 2008 Farm Bill. A provision in the law requires the department to keep confidential income and sales tax information that it collects from businesses when they apply to participate in SNAP.
But Argus Leader lawyer Jon Arneson said the information collected from businesses when they apply does not include the tax-supported payments they ultimately receive through SNAP. Arneson added that USDA wouldn’t ask retailers to provide information on applications that USDA already possesses.
Amazing data! Argus Leader continued:
The number of businesses qualified to accept food stamps has increased dramatically in what is now an $80 billion a year program. There were more than 246,000 businesses in SNAP at the end of last year, an increase of almost 100,000 since 2005, according to USDA.
[…..]
The lawsuit comes amid growing concern that smaller grocers and convenience stores are responsible for the majority of food stamp fraud. A report released in August by USDA estimated that $858 million annually between 2009 and 2011 was lost through fraud. The report noted that smaller grocers and convenience stores accounted for 15 percent of all food stamp transactions but 85 percent of fraud cases.
Now what I want to know is what are the names and the immigration status of those who have been found guilty of food stamp fraud—but I won’t hold my breath!
Go here for our extensive archive on food stamp fraud.