TOP FIVE Food Stamp Fraud Takedowns of 2017...Do You See The Common Thread? * 100PercentFedUp.com * by Patty McMurray

After the Obama years of record food stamp usage, President Trump is pushing new initiatives to get people off of the government dole. The number was higher than 39.5 million (all-time high of 47.6 million in 2015) but you see the explosion with the graph below:

The fraud in the food stamp program is so rampant and easy to commit, we’ve become a global magnet for grifters who immigrate and set up shop to cash in on money for food stamps.

This program is ripe for reform but what’s most disturbing is the very lenient penalty for the crime of food stamp fraud. The fraudsters are usually given a very light jail sentence and ordered to pay back the money. The problem is that the money has probably gone overseas and will NEVER be paid back. These grifters fade into the woodwork only to resurface when they reoffend.

THE TOP 5 FOOD STAMP FRAUD CASES FROM 2017:

The food stamp program is a federally-funded program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and federal investigators are most often the ones who catch those engaged in fraudulent activities..

Investigators often uncover millions of dollars worth of food stamp fraud, mostly from people who run convenience stores in low-income areas where many patrons receive food stamps through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

To show how many millions of dollars these criminals have taken away from the federal government, here are the 5 biggest takedowns of food stamp fraud of 2017.

IMMIGRANT FRAUD IS THE COMMON THREAD!

1. Ohio Convenience Store Owner Sentenced to 33 Months in Prison for $2.8 Million in Food Stamp Fraud

A former Ohio convenience store owner got caught carrying out a $2.8 million food stamp fraud scheme where he allowed benefit recipients to exchange their food stamps for cash.

The USDA revealed in an audit that the store, Breaden Market, cashed in on SNAP benefits more than ten times the amount of larger stores in the area, raising red flags among investigators.

A judge eventually convicted and sentenced George Rafidi, 62, to 33 months in prison in February and ordered him to pay that $2.8 million back.

2. Florida Investigators Discover More than $20 Million in Food Stamp Fraud

The Division of Public Assistance Fraud, which works within Florida’s Department of Children and Families to investigate welfare fraud, uncovered $20,719,036 worth of food stamp fraud in South Florida over the past fiscal year.

The agency said it uncovered the majority of fraud when paging through SNAP benefit applications stating fraudulent household information.

3. Baltimore Man Sentenced to Four Years for $3.7 Million Food Stamp Fraud

A Baltimore store owner got slapped with a four-year prison sentence for carrying out $3.7 million worth of food stamp fraud.

Mohammad Shafiq, 51, was one of 14 other Baltimore-area retailers sentenced for $16 million worth of food stamp fraud, where they exchanged SNAP benefits for cash.

The judge ordered Shafiq to pay back that $3.7 million to the federal government and serve three years of supervised release following the end of his sentence.

4. Three Wisconsin Men Who Carried Out $1.2 Million Food Stamp Fraud Sentenced to Hard Time

A judge sentenced three Milwaukee, Wisconsin, convenience store owners—Kanwar Gill, 67, Raviinder Gill, 27, and George Nance, 59—to prison terms ranging from 15-20 months in October after the three had been found guilty of exchanging cash for SNAP benefits.

Their store, Quick N EZ, had been an authorized retailer that accepts food stamp benefits, but the $1.2 million in benefits the store redeemed was far beyond the amount the small convenience store was expected to redeem.

Records show that all three men had been ordered to pay back the $1.2 million in fraudulently earned money.

5. Iraqi Immigrant Pleads Guilty to $1.4 Million Food Stamp Fraud

An Iraqi immigrant pleaded guilty to $1.4 million in food stamp fraud in November for conspiring with others to defraud the U.S. government.

Ali Ratib Daham, 40, of Maine, gave customers cash in exchange for SNAP and Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) program benefits. He then redeemed the full value of the benefits to obtain more money from the government fraudulently.

The naturalized U.S. citizen is expected to face a harsh prison sentence for his crime—he faces up to 20 years behind bars and will most likely be expected to pay back the $1.4 million to the government.

Via: Breitbart