Amin M. Salem, Food Stamp Fraud, Ohio 2026

Amin M. Salem, 59, Indicted on Charges of Food Stamp Fraud in Ohio

A Westlake man with a history of food stamp fraud has been indicted on charges that he continued to illegally accept food stamps at seven Cleveland-area gas stations, laundered the profits, illegally had firearms, operated an unregulated slaughterhouse and polluted a stream by dumping animal blood and other fluids into it.

Amin M. Salem, 59, and Mohamed Salem, 32, were both indicted on one count each of conspiracy to launder money and one count of engaging in real estate transactions using laundered funds.

Amin Salem is additionally charged with one count of making unpermitted discharges into a waterway, one count of distribution of adulterated, misbranded or uninspected meat and one count of being a felon in possession of firearms. That charge stems from Amin Salem having an AR-15 rifle and a Savage 12-gauge shotgun, despite previous convictions for conspiracy to defraud the United States, food stamp fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering.

Mohamed Salem, also of Westlake and Amin’s son, is also charged with trafficking in counterfeit goods for his sale of counterfeit clothing and apparel.

Zahran al-Qadan, 55, of Cleveland, was indicted on one count of conspiracy to launder money.

Prosecutors are seeking to forfeit properties at 43588 Stang Road and 7250 West Ridge Road in Elyria owned by the Salems.

According to the six-count indictment:

• Amin Salem secretly owned several area gas stations: Henry’s Marathon at 3106 Fulton Road; Gas Way at 10606 Bellaire Road; Turney Sunoco at 6009 Turney Road in Garfield Heights; Harvard Gas USA at 7020 Harvard Ave.; Bellaire Gas USA at 3934 West 117th Street; Rapid Stop at 1712 East 55th Street and Memphis Shell at 7210 Memphis Ave.
• Mohamed Salem managed the gas station’s finances on behalf of his father. The gas stations had terminals to accept and process Electronic Benefits Transaction (EBT) cards as part of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps.
• The gas stations and the EBT terminals inside were in the names of Mohamed Salem or another person, since Amin Salem was prohibited from owning stores that processed EBT transactions because of previous convictions for food stamp fraud and related crimes.
• The gas station terminals were used by the Salems to process more than $2.7 million in fraudulent SNAP transactions between 2010 and 2016.
• Amin Salem slaughtered lambs and goats at his property on Stang Road in 2015 and 2016. He sold the meat, which was not inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He also caused, without a permit, the discharge of blood and other bodily fluids from the slaughtered animals into Engle Ditch, which flows into the Black River and eventually Lake Erie.
• Mohamed Salem sold meat illegally slaughtered at Amin Salem’s farm. The Salems allowed customers to pay for the illegally slaughtered meat using SNAP cards, in contravention of SNAP’s rules and regulations.

Prosecutors are seeking to forfeit properties at 43588 Stang Road and 7250 West Ridge Road in Elyria owned by the Salems.

The indictment alleges that Amin Salem and his son Mohamed Salem laundered more than $2.7 million in fraudulent SNAP transactions through their gas stations and Yahala Bakery, a grocery store and bakery in North Olmsted.

Amin Salem and Mohamed Salem are scheduled to appear in court on June 15, 2026.

Defendant:

• Amin M. Salem, Real Full Name: Amin M. Salem
• Mohamed Salem, Real Full Name: Mohamed Salem

Criminal Charges:

• Amin M. Salem: conspiracy to launder money, engaging in real estate transactions using laundered funds, making unpermitted discharges into a waterway, distribution of adulterated, misbranded or uninspected meat, being a felon in possession of firearms
• Mohamed Salem: conspiracy to launder money, engaging in real estate transactions using laundered funds, trafficking in counterfeit goods
• Zahran al-Qadan: conspiracy to launder money

City and State:

• Westlake, Ohio

Exact Date:

• June 15, 2026

Sentence or Outcome:

• Amin M. Salem: scheduled to appear in court on June 15, 2026
• Mohamed Salem: scheduled to appear in court on June 15, 2026

Dollar Amounts:

• More than $2.7 million in fraudulent SNAP transactions

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndoh/pr/westlake-man-indicted-charges-he-illegally-accepted-food-stamps-cleveland-area-gas