Tag: food stamp fraud

Former South Carolina Mosque President convicted in huge cigarette trafficking ring

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

What does this have to do with refugees?  Hopefully not much, but a note of warning to the Bhutanese refugees rumored to be trafficking cigarettes, you will likely be caught one day.

Convenience store fraud is not limited to food stamp fraud (a side interest here at RRW).  In addition to SNAP trafficking there is gambling, illegal drug sales, cigarette smuggling and even gun sales going on behind those shoddy facades at the local mom and pop stores.

I sound like a broken record, but someone really needs to create an entire blog about immigrant criminals in America!

Nasser Alquza, former President Central Mosque of Charleston, to do time in the big house!

Here is one account from 2012 of the bust of the ring headed by Jordanian immigrant Nasser Alquza. From The Post and Courier (Hat tip: the ever-vigilant ‘pungentpeppers’):

A Mount Pleasant man fronted cash in a multimillion-dollar cigarette trafficking and money laundering scheme that crossed state borders and hid cash within South Carolina businesses, according to federal court documents unsealed last week.

Nasser Alquza, 56, was president of the Central Mosque of Charleston until after his arrest Nov. 30.

Investigators nabbed Alquza and 10 other men in a 26-count indictment filed in North Carolina, accusing them of crimes ranging from conspiracy to receiving stolen property.

Court records say the men bought nearly 7,000 cases of “stolen” cigarettes, each containing 60 cartons, from undercover officers in exchange for about $7.5 million.

Federal agents searched Alquza’s home, a three-story yellow house on Oakhurst Drive in the upscale Rivertowne community in Mount Pleasant, shortly after 7 a.m. on Nov. 30. They left with computers, cameras, money, check books, receipts, business records, passports and identification documents.

Officials asked a judge to seal the court records as the investigation continued, but the documents became public last week.

And in a recent update of the story, this time at the Lake Wylie Pilot, we learn of the convictions in the case where “business ties” extended to the perps’ native Jordan.  Don’t you wonder which of our LEGAL immigration programs let Alquza and his crew into America?

Key figures in a $20 million cigarette-smuggling ring across the Carolinas, which involved the undercover sale of almost a half million cartons of smokes, received federal prison sentences of up to 18 years this week in Charlotte.

In all, “Operation Burn Notice” led to the arrests of 12 people on cigarette-trafficking and money-laundering charges – all connected to the flow of illegal merchandise between Charlotte, Greensboro and Columbia.

[….]

Undercover agents from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police and other law enforcement groups eventually focused on the uncle-nephew team of Nasser Kamal Alquza of Mount Pleasant, S.C., and Kama Zaki Qazah of Columbia.

Together, the men owned businesses ranging from convenience stores to used-car lots to Subway franchises. They also maintained extensive business ties throughout South Carolina and their native Jordan.

[….]

Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Frank Whitney sentenced the 35-year-old Qazah to 18 years in prison followed by two years of supervised release. Whitney also ordered him to forfeit any property associated with his crimes.  [Two years of supervised release? How about deportation!—ed]

That last hit could be substantial. When authorities searched Qazah’s house after his arrest, they came across a cardboard box in his garage. It held $1,299,990 in cash.

According to this report, uncle Nasser Alquza will be sentenced sometime this week.

Just like the stories of refugee criminals we have reported lately here in Utah, and here in Colorado, this story will not reach the national mainstream media, so it’s up to you, bloggers, on-line publishers and readers on the web, to get this news out!

For our complete archive on food stamp fraud, click here.

Ahmed and Abdulmalik busted in Baltimore food stamp fraud scheme

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

This one was a $1.5 million rip-off of the US taxpayer.

The Baltimore Sun doesn’t say much, but here (below) is the entire FBI press release that I found informative.  Note that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services was involved, so there must be an immigration angle to the case.   But, of course, no mention of details regarding where these alleged crooks came from!  We have our guesses!  LOL! See a pattern?

For new readers this is a hobby here at RRW.  See our previous report on another big bust in our home state. It is good to know that even in blue Maryland the feds are ferreting out the fraudsters.

From the FBI yesterday (highlights are mine):

BALTIMORE—Abdulmalik Abdulla, age 37, and Ahmed Mohssen, age 53, both of Baltimore, were arrested today on federal charges of conspiracy to commit food stamp fraud and wire fraud in connection with a scheme to illegally redeem food stamp benefits in exchange for cash. The criminal complaint filed today alleges that the defendants, who operate Sam’s NY grocery store on North Milton Street in Baltimore, received more than $1.5 million in federal payments for transactions in which they did not provide any food but instead split the proceeds with food stamp recipients. Federal agents arrested the defendants and executed search warrants at the store and related locations today. In separate cases, 10 defendants were charged with food stamp fraud in September 2013; four of those defendants have pleaded guilty, and the others are awaiting trial.

The arrests were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge William G. Squires, Jr. of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General, Northeast Region; and Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

“Retailers who trade food stamp credits for cash are on notice that federal authorities are on their trail,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “Taxpayers fund the program to provide food for needy recipients, not to turn retail store cash registers into ATMs.”

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), previously known as the Food Stamp Program, is administered by the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), together with state agencies. The program funds low-income individuals to allow them to obtain a more nutritious diet. In Maryland, the program provides eligible individuals with an electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card called the Independence Card, which operates like a debit card. Recipients use the EBT card to purchase approved food items from participating retailers.

Retailers must apply to and be approved by FNS to participate in the program. Authorized retailers use a point-of-sale terminal that checks the EBT card information and deducts the cash value of the purchase from the customer’s SNAP benefit balance. SNAP reimbursements are paid to retailers through electronic funds transfers. Retailers bill the government in return for providing approved food items. SNAP retailers, including the defendants, receive instruction regarding the requirements and regulations of the food stamp program, such as that only eligible food items can be exchanged for EBT benefits and that a retailer may never exchange EBT benefits for cash or non-food items.

The criminal complaint alleges that the defendants exchanged EBT benefits for cash, typically paying half the value of the EBT benefits in cash. As a result of unlawful cash transactions, the defendants allegedly obtained more than $1.5 million in EBT deposits for transactions in which the store did not provide food.

The defendants face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each count of wire fraud and a maximum of five years in prison for conspiracy to commit food stamp fraud. The defendants are expected to have initial appearances at 3:45 p.m. today in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.  [Wire fraud??? Does that mean money left the country?—ed]

A criminal complaint is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by criminal complaint is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the USDA Office of Inspector General and FBI for their work in the investigation. U.S. Attorney Rosenstein expressed appreciation to Secretary Ted Dallas and the Maryland Department of Human Resources, as well as U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services-Office of Fraud Detection and National Security for their assistance in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorney Kathleen O. Gavin, who is prosecuting the case.

See our extensive archive of similar cases from sea to shining sea!

Related:  See Washington Times Golden Hammer award earlier this month.  And, from Breitbart—able-bodied people with no dependents signing up in droves—have they figured out how to use the cards for cash?  I bet they have.

Yonkers, NY: food stamp fraud heist in 3 convenience stores nets $1.2 million

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

And, besides the one Hispanic—Gloria Garcia—those charged include Ahmed, Shoiab, Yousif, and Mufid!

EBT Nation! My go-to graphic when I can’t find a photo of the food stamp crooks

From Lohud.com:

The owners of three Yonkers groceries and two of their employees have been charged in a scheme to exchange more than $1.2 million in food stamps for cash.

Prosecutors, who began investigating some of the people as early as 2011, said the scheme has persisted for years at the three stores. Employees at the stores — two of which are in downtrodden sections of the city — would overcharge customers’ electronic benefit cards and then give the customers the cash while pocketing some of the money for themselves.

At 42 Post Deli Grocery on Post Street, prosecutors said, this meant the store owner and employee would keep about 50 percent of the cash; other stores kept smaller amounts.

These crooks are not always the brightest bulbs so one wonders how these young Middle Eastern or African men have been able to acquire small stores throughout America—who is helping them?

Why do I say they aren’t that bright, the feds only need to look at how much food stamp redemption goes on in comparable stores and that is what they did here.

At Sam Deli on Palisade Avenue investigators calculated that the store authorized $292,819 in benefits redemptions from March 2012 to February 2013, while similar stores redeemed as little as $8,433. Prosecutors said Gloria Garcia, 51, the owner of a third grocery, exchanged more than $800,000 in federal benefits for cash.

So where do these perps come from? Like most of these food stamp fraud cases, immigration status is not mentioned.

Four of those charged, including Garcia, were taken into custody Tuesday and arraigned in U.S. District Court in White Plains. The other three were identified as Ahmed Alsamet, 35, the owner of Sam Deli, and Shoiab Ahmed, 22, an employee there, who are accused of exchanging upwards of $250,000 in food stamps for cash; as well as Yousif Kassim, 30, the owner of 42 Post.

Kassim is charged along with Mufid Kassem, 36, an employee at 42 Post. Both are accused of exchanging food stamps for more than $200,000 in cash. Kassem remains at large.

Food stamp fraud reporting is a side interest here at RRW, click here for probably a hundred similar stories going back to 2008.  So far, the mainstream media has refused to make any connection between these scams and ‘immigrant (hah!) entrepreneurs.’

Go here for information on how to report suspected food stamp fraud where you live.

Meriden CT: Moroccan sentenced in food stamp fraud case could be deported upon release

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

I’ve long complained that with these immigrant-run food stamp fraud scams, the media rarely mentions the immigration status of the scammer found guilty, but hurrah! this story does!

The store in Connecticut where taxpayers were scammed out of $820,000!

From My Record Journal (emphasis is mine):

MERIDEN — A local grocery store owner was sentenced to 27 months in prison by a federal judge yesterday for food stamp fraud.

Myrachid Elquafai, 52, of New Haven, was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit food stamp fraud and one count of food stamp fraud. He was found guilty after a five day trial in federal court in New Haven.

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Elquafai was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Janet Hall to 27 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. [This release bit doesn’t jibe with the deportation suggestion below—ed]

[….]

Elquafai would redeem food stamp benefits at the store at a “significantly discounted rate in exchange for cash and cigarettes,” and an investigation showed more that $820,000 in illegal food stamp benefits were redeemed at the store, Daly said.

[….]

Elquafai has been detained since his arrest on August 2, 2012 and is subject to immigration proceedings after his release from prison, Daly said. Elquafai is a citizen of Morocco, Daly said.

Photo is from this story.  Seems store owners were already in trouble for buying stolen goods to stock their shelves.

Click here for our complete archive on immigrant-run convenience store food stamp fraud (a hobby here at RRW).  Go here for how to report suspected food stamp fraud.

Ohio: Mohammed and Ahmad arrested in food stamp fraud case

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

These are not the same perps we had last week!  Here are last week’s Mohammad (AL) and Ahmed (NY)!

That is Mohammed on the left.

Thanks to reader Robin for spotting this story with yet again a slightly different twist on the increasingly common scam.  The gas station owners weren’t even eligible to trade in food stamps, they were just buying cards (at a discounted rate) from customers who wanted quick cash.

From ABC6:

GROVE CITY — State agents cracked down on a gas station shop owner and his employee, who allegedly cheated taxpayers out of hundreds of dollars in a matter of days.

Taxpayers lost $3 billion*** every year in food stamp fraud, according to an undercover video. Mohammed Aqel and Ahmad Hijazi are accused of contributing to that figure by trafficking food stamp cards in Grove City.

The men were apparently accepting the cards even though their Marathon shop on Broadway is not certified to take the welfare.

Undercover agents with the Ohio Investigative Unit said they posed as customers at this Marathon more than twice in the last few weeks. They said they sold the suspects three EBT cards for more than $100 cash. The benefits on the cards amount to five times that price.

Agents said Aqel and Hijazi spent it all. They suspect they either bought groceries for their own homes or stocked the shelves at the business. The duo faces felony charges and risk losing their liquor license.   [What the heck!  Gas station owners in Ohio can get liquor licenses?—ed]

For new readers, we follow food stamp fraud cases here at RRW as a side interest.  Click here for dozens and dozens of food stamp fraud cases involving immigrant-run Mom & Pop stores.

Go here for information on reporting suspected food stamp fraud in your town.

***Related, see also this December story in the New York Times confirming the $3 billion in SNAP fraud the Dept. of Agriculture is uncovering.