Convenience Store Owner Charged in $500,000 SNAP Fraud Scheme: Allegedly Bought EBT Cards at Half Price to Stock His Store
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — Hollywood is in Broward County, Florida. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida announced on October 30 that Al Amin, 52, of Hollywood, has been charged by criminal complaint in connection with a years-long scheme to defraud the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): prosecutors allege he conspired with others to buy Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards from SNAP recipients for approximately half their value in cash, then used the cards to purchase bulk merchandise to stock his convenience store and to resell to other store owners in the area, in a scheme involving more than $500,000 in benefits.
According to court records, Amin's store is Kwik Stop 72. The complaint alleges that he and his co-conspirators paid recipients roughly half of each card's available benefit amount in cash, then used the fraudulently obtained cards at various retailers to buy merchandise in bulk, over a period of years.
Amin is charged with conspiracy to obtain unauthorized use, transfer, acquisition, or possession of benefits, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. If convicted, he faces up to five years in federal prison on the SNAP conspiracy charge and up to 20 years on the wire fraud conspiracy count.
U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge José R. Figueroa of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami, and Inspector General John Walk of the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the charges. HSI Miami and the USDA Office of Inspector General are investigating the case, with assistance from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Removal Operations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph A. Cooley is prosecuting the case, docketed as case number 26-mj-06617. The case was brought as part of the Justice Department's National Fraud Enforcement Division.
The Justice Department notes that a criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. (Source: U.S. Department of Justice)
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于 Fort Lauderdale 的 Broward County Judicial Complex（资料图）。Georgia Guercio 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Broward County Judicial Complex in Fort Lauderdale. By Georgia Guercio, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
