Operator of Two Convenience Stores Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Food Stamp Fraud

BALTIMORE, MD—U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles, Jr. sentenced Ahmed Ayedh Al-Jabrati, age 58, a citizen of Yemen residing in Baltimore, today to two years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for wire fraud in connection with a scheme to illegally redeem food stamp benefits in exchange for cash. Judge Quarles also ordered that Al-Jabrati pay restitution of $1.2 million.
The sentence was 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’s Office of Inspector General, Northeast Region; and Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Al-Jabrati operated two convenience stores, Second Obama Express and D&M Deli and Grocery, located next door to each other at 901 Harlem Avenue in Baltimore. According to their plea agreements and court documents, the stores participated in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), previously known as the Food Stamp Program. 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 obtain EBT cards through the state Department of Human Resources, then use the EBT card to purchase approved food items from participating retailers.
Al-Jabrati knew that it was a violation of SNAP regulations to trade cash for SNAP benefits. Nevertheless, from October 2010 to July 2013, Al-Jabrati exchanged SNAP benefits for cash at less than face value of the EBT benefits, in violation of the food stamp program rules, and kept up to 50 percent of the benefits for themselves.
Judge Quarles determined today that Al-Jabrati obtained at least $1.5 million in payments for food sales that never occurred.
Eight of the 10 convenience store owners or operators who were indicted in September 2013 in connection with schemes to illegally redeem food stamp benefits in exchange for cash have pleaded guilty to food stamp fraud and/or wire fraud. Amara Cisse, age 50, of Windsor Mill, Maryland, was sentenced to 27 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $654,349.24, and his wife, Fanta Keita, was sentenced to two months in prison. Retailer Hyung Cho, age 40, was sentenced to 38 months in prison, and his mother, Dae Cho, age 67, was sentenced to 18 months in prison. The Chos were also ordered to forfeit $371,439.21 and pay restitution of $1.4 million. Two more retailers were indicted in January 2014.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised USDA’s 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 prosecuted the case.

Four in Cleveland Area Charged with Food Stamp Fraud and WIC Fraud Conspiracy

Four men from Northeast Ohio were charged in a five-count indictment with engaging in a conspiracy to defraud the food stamp and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) programs from a store on Detroit Avenue in Cleveland, law enforcement officials said.
Indicted are Bashir Mohammed, age 31, of Cleveland; Yusuf Maalin, 45, of Cleveland; Ali Shire Ahmed, 54, of North Olmsted, Ohio; and Farah Hasan Warsame, 27, of Cleveland.
The indictment alleges that Mohamed, Maalin, Ahmed, and Warsame conspired to illegally allow customers to redeem food stamp and WIC benefits at Bashir Market, 8401 Detroit Avenue, in exchange for cash, ineligible items, and credit towards overseas wire transfers.
Mohamed, Maalin, and Warsame allegedly worked at the market and redeemed the food stamp and WIC benefits for the cash, unauthorized items, or credit towards overseas funds transfers. The credit for overseas funds transfers was tracked on a ledger kept at the market, according to the indictment.
Mohamed or Maalin would then provide Ahmed with cash or a check that Ahmed would take to Columbus, Ohio to send overseas by wire transfer. The indictment alleges that the conspiracy involved the attempted redemption of approximately $670,612 in food stamp and WIC benefits, according to the indictment.
The conspiracy took place between 2008 and last year, according to the indictment.
In addition to the conspiracy charge, Mohamed, Maalin, Ahmed, and Warsame are also charged with counts of food stamp fraud, unlawful food stamp redemptions, and WIC fraud. Ahmed is charged with one count of money laundering.
The indictment results from an investigation conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture, Office of the Inspector General; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations.
The case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew W. Shepherd and M. Kendra Klump.
If convicted, the defendants’ sentence will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.