Two people have been charged for running a food stamp fraud scheme from a New York City bodega, where the pair trafficked and stole millions of dollars in benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, according to an indictment unsealed Tuesday. Dawood Kassim, 31, and Dia Alqalisi, 26, allegedly used a bodega in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in Brooklyn as "ground zero" for their scheme to steal over $20 million in SNAP benefits, said the U.S. Attorney. Kassim was the owner of the bodega Throop Farm Market, which was not authorized to process SNAP transactions, USA Today reports. Still, from the bodega, prosecutors said Kassim and Alqalisi engaged in thousands of fraudulent SNAP transactions between April and December 2022. A grand jury charged the pair with one count of SNAP fraud. Kassim was also charged with two counts of access device fraud and four counts of engaging in unlawful monetary transactions. Kassim and Alqalisi were arrested Tuesday.
sa
"As alleged, the defendants trafficked and stole a massive amount of SNAP benefits from thousands of victims, illegally profiting from federally funded benefits intended for those in need of nutritious meals — which is especially vital in these times of high food costs," said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace. "The arrests today should be a wakeup call to those who think government programs are a piggy bank they can pillage without fear of consequences." SNAP provides food benefits to low-income families to help supplement grocery budgets. The benefits are sent through an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card that can be used at participating businesses. On average, 41.2 million Americans received monthly SNAP benefits in the 2022 fiscal year. Prosecutors alleged that for about eight months, Kassim and Alqalisi "engaged in a sophisticated scheme" that allowed SNAP recipients to exchange their benefits for cash or non-SNAP eligible goods. The pair then would keep a portion of the benefits for themselves.
Comments