United States Authorities Charge Six People in Connection to Alleged $66,000,000 Food Stamp Fraud Plan
In a brand-new press release, the DOJ is announcing charges against 6 individuals connected to a “sprawling” scheme that carried in $66 million in food stamps by apparently abusing the Supplemental Nutrition Help Program (BREEZE). The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is charging six people connected to a multimillion-dollar food stamp and bribery scheme. In a new news release, the DOJ is announcing charges against 6 people connected to a “vast” plan that took $66 million in food stamps by presumably abusing the Supplemental Nutrition Support Program (SNAP). The suspects– Michael Kehoe, Mohamad Nawafleh, Omar Alrawashdeh, Gamal Obaid, Emad Alrawashdeh, and Arlasa Davis– are charged with conspiracy to take government funds and with misusing U.S. Department of Farming (USDA) benefits, among other charges. Authorities say that beginning in 2019, Kehoe and his co-conspirators apparently sent deceitful applications to get device terminals that accepted payments from breeze receivers for unauthorized locations, such as smoke shops. SNAP receivers utilize specific payment cards to purchase food at stores. According to the press release, Kehoe set up 160 illegal terminals throughout New york city and processed countless dollars worth of fraudulent EBT (Electronic Advantage Transfer) transactions. One of the members of the group– Davis– worked for the USDA and is suspected of utilizing her position to disperse a list and obtain of license numbers for certifying shops, which enabled the thieves to unlawfully acquire EBT terminals for stores not authorized by the USDA. In return, she received kickbacks camouflaged as gifts. As stated by U.S. Lawyer Perry Carbone,”Michael Kehoe and his co-conspirators misused 10s of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds indicated to help low-income households put food on the table. This fraud was made possible when USDA worker Arlasa Davis betrayed the general public trust by offering confidential federal government details to the extremely lawbreakers she was supposed to capture. Their actions undermined a program that susceptible Brand-new Yorkers depend upon for standard nutrition. These charges should be a pointer that those who exploit anti-poverty programs for personal gain will be held responsible for their criminal activities.” If convicted, the suspects deal with years behind bars.
