More in our on-going reporting on food stamp fraud…..

Fox News reported yesterday that Congress will consider measures to attempt to get the fraud out of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that has grown enormously in recent years—both the program  and the fraud!

Our interest is in the food stamp trafficking that we see almost daily in news reports from around the country.  Today we have another Mohammed and a Tofeek.   You might look at trafficking as a kind of redistribution of wealth—instead of buying food with the EBT card a patron is given cash usually at 50 cents on the dollar and the store owner turns the full dollar into the government for repayment by you—the taxpayer!

Here is what Fox said:

As House and Senate negotiators meet Wednesday for the first joint talks on a bill that includes sharp cuts to food-stamp funding, an open question is whether lawmakers will get serious about targeting fraud in the massive program.

A recent inspector general audit suggests a full-blown crackdown on fraud could save $222 million a year.

[…..]

The projected potential savings from fraud-cutting is detailed in the inspector general report, which found $3.7 million in questionable monthly payouts across 10 states.

Much of the fraud involves the owners and/or employees of smaller, so-called convenience stores exchanging or trafficking SNAP benefits for cash, cigarettes, drugs and guns.

They try to make it look like the fraud is tiny compared to the whole program, but I think if card-holders can no longer redeem their food allowance for cash, it will slow the growth of the entire program.  It is illegal to ‘sell’ one’s card so clamping down on the sellers with legal action might cool the enthusiasm for the program!

Fraud busts continue—Mohammad in Lexington, KY and Tafeek in Lackawanna, NY.  Are these some of the highly touted immigrant entrepreneurs the Open Borders gang is always trotting out?

From Lex18.com:

Lexington Police say they have begun to break up an elaborate welfare fraud ring operating out of gas stations in two counties.

It’s a program designed to help those who have trouble making ends meet, but it’s often abused. And for the past year, Lexington Police have been on to two brothers who spell their last names differently, but are up to the same tricks, detectives say.

[…..]

But police say, the Ryyal brothers have been sweetening the deal. Here’s how it works: say a person’s EBT card has a monthly food allowance of $300. Police say Mohammad Ryyal would ring up just a few items, tell the cash register the total was $300, and kick back $150 cash to the person wishing to sell it.

Maybe the seller is using the cash to buy drugs or liquor, or maybe something less sinister like paying rent. But police say regardless, it’s illegal.

And the Ryyal brothers were profiting nicely, pocketing some of the money and using the rest to stock inventory in Thayer Ryyal‘s BP store on Four Mile Road in Richmond.

Tofeek ringing up food stamp benefits at a clothing store in Lackawanna, NY.  From 7thspace.com:

BUFFALO, NY—United States Attorney William J Hochul, Jr announced today that Tofeek Albanna, 37, of Lackawanna, New York, who was convicted of food stamp fraud, was sentenced to 15 months in prison by United States District Court Judge Richard J Arcara. The defendant was also ordered to pay $73,400 in restitution to the United States Department of Agriculture, which administers the federal government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), previously known as the Food Stamp Program. Assistant United States Attorneys Robert C Moscati and John E Rogowski, who handled the prosecution of this case, stated that Albanna owned and operated LA Fashions on Holland Avenue in Lackawanna. Albanna primarily stocked clothing items, along with a few food items in the store.

The SNAP program requires that those receiving benefits purchase certain approved food items. Despite selling mostly clothing items, between February 2009 and April 2010, the defendant redeemed more than $100,000 in SNAP benefits.

In Tofeek Albanna’s case, ICE was called in, so there must be an immigration angle but as usual the convicted man’s immigration status is not mentioned.  Nor is there any mention of deporting these crooks.  And, did you ever wonder how he will repay $73,400 running a legitimate store when he gets out?

By the way, if you think I’m cherry-picking fraud cases with Middle Eastern names, I’m not.  It is a rare day that I see a case where the perp is a Smith, Jones or Baker……

Addendum:  60-70% of refugees use food stamps.

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.