CRIME
New York Men Charged In Scheme To Steal $20 Million In SNAP Benefit Fraud
U.S. Attorney's Office
Three New York men have been indicted in an alleged fraud scheme to steal $20 million in federal food assistance benefits through a bodega in Brooklyn.
Dawood Kassim and Dia Alqalisi were arrested Tuesday, while a third defendant named in the indictment remained at large, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
The defendants allegedly siphoned more than $20 million in benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a federal program administered by the USDAs Food and Nutrition Service that subsidizes food purchases for low-income households.
From April through December 2022, the defendants allegedly conducted fraudulent SNAP transactions out of Throop Farm Market, a bodega located owned by Kassim and located at the corner of Throop and Greene Avenues in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood.
They allegedly allowed SNAP recipients to exchange SNAP benefits for cash or non-SNAP eligible goods, such as alcoholic beverages, and kept a portion of the benefits for themselves as payment. Kassim also allegedly stole SNAP benefits from unsuspecting victims by using counterfeit and stolen Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards.
The defendants allegedly received over $20 million dollars in federally funded SNAP benefits, including over $7 million dollars in SNAP benefits from recipients living outside of New York.
“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,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement. “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.”
TMX contributed to this article.
