Boston Store Owner, 25, Pleads Guilty to SNAP Fraud: 500-Square-Foot Shop Traded Benefits for Cash and Liquor, Sold Donated Meals

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts announced on November 13 that Saul Alisme, 25, of Hyde Park in Boston, Massachusetts, has pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to one count of food stamp fraud, for fraudulently obtaining millions of dollars' worth of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits through small retail stores he operated in Boston. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani scheduled sentencing for February 10, 2027. Alisme was charged in December 2025.

Alisme owned Saul Mache Mixe Store, a small variety store in a single street-facing storefront in Boston's Mattapan neighborhood, occupying approximately 500 square feet. According to the charging documents, despite the limited size, inventory and food offerings, the store exhibited extraordinarily high SNAP redemption volumes, far beyond what could reasonably be supported by legitimate food sales. Transaction data showed that only approximately 10 percent of the store's SNAP transactions were for amounts under $40, while more than 70 percent exceeded $95, patterns typically associated with large supermarkets, not small variety stores with limited food inventory.

During undercover operations at the store, SNAP benefits were trafficked for cash on two occasions, and in each instance Alisme worked the cash register and personally exchanged the benefits for cash. The store was also observed selling liquor in exchange for SNAP benefits. Alisme also sold MannaPack meals in the store, a donated food product manufactured by the nonprofit Feed My Starving Children that is paid for entirely by charitable donations and intended for shipment and distribution to food-insecure children overseas, never authorized for retail sale. He sold the donated meals for approximately $8 per package, profiting from food intended for humanitarian relief. According to the charging documents, the store carried little legitimate food inventory and generated minimal lawful revenue, and Alisme relied almost entirely on USDA-funded SNAP redemptions as his source of income.

The charge of food stamp fraud greater than $100 provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000, and Alisme is subject to deportation upon completion of any sentence imposed. The case was announced by U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley; Charmeka Parker, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, Northeast Region; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division; and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox. Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Mallard of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit is prosecuting the case.

(Source: U.S. Department of Justice)

Source: U.S. Department of Justice

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Photo: 图：美国司法部大楼本体（四级固定图库 fed-doj-building；当事人无官方照片，资料图）。 / The U.S. Department of Justice headquarters building (GSM fixed asset library; file photo, no official photo of the defendant is available).