Authorities in the state of Massachusetts have charged two Haitian men with food stamp fraud to the tune of over $7 million. Antonio Bonheur, 74, and Saul Alisme, 21, are now facing one count each of SNAP program fraud. District of Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Leah Foley stated the men committed the crime through small storefronts such as the Jesula Variety Store and Saul Mache Mixe Store.
The two men used the storefronts to redeem SNAP benefits, sometimes pulling in $500,000 a month. To put this in context, another local supermarket only redeems $82,000 a month in SNAP benefits. Foley stated during a press conference that these stores weren’t supermarkets or grocery stores. She stated they didn’t even meet the criteria to be considered convenience stores.
“These were not supermarkets. They were not full-service groceries. It would be a huge stretch to even call them convenience stores,” Foley said during the press conference. “The only thing convenient about these stores was how easy it was to commit SNAP benefit fraud.”
“This was not a sophisticated fraud scheme, and it didn’t have to be because a lack of oversight was all that was needed to allow it to happen,” Foley continued, according to Fox News. If the two men are convicted, they could potentially spend five years behind bars, along with three years of supervised release, plus a hefty $250,000.
Prosecutors say the men primarily used the Jesula storefront to commit their crimes. Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey revealed that state officials contacted federal authorities about the suspicious transactions taking place at the stores earlier this year. “My administration reported this suspicious activity to the federal government for investigation and prosecution over a year ago,” Healey stated.
“As a former Attorney General and now Governor, I will always support prosecution to the fullest extent of the law for anyone who engages in fraud or abuse of a federal program or any program,” she added. The incident comes hot on the heels of the Trump administration issuing a threat to sever federal funding to Democrat-run states if they don’t take time to inspect SNAP benefit payments.
The crackdown by federal authorities comes after it was revealed that Somali immigrants were committing acts of fraud that cost taxpayers almost a billion dollars under the leadership of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. During a press conference, Walz announced that he would be installing a new statewide prevention program, partnering with a private firm that specializes in forensic auditing.
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Bonheur and Alisme were both arrested on Wednesday morning and will be arraigned in a federal court in Boston. The two men were able to keep their work secret by using secondary bank accounts. SNAP benefits were transferred to the accounts and later withdrawn as cash. The men then redeposited the cash in order to give the appearance of legitimate business activity, according to WWLP.
As if the SNAP fraud isn’t bad enough, Bonheur and Alisme also sold MannaPack meals, which is a donated food product from a non-profit organization called Feed My Starving Children. The meals were sold for $8 a piece, which means they earned a profit from food that was supposed to provide humanitarian relief.
Featured image: screenshot from embedded video