Two Brook Park men have been hit with a guilty plea in what authorities are calling one of the largest food stamp fraud cases in Ohio history. Saed (Sam) Wahdan, 41, and his brother Maher (Mario) Wahdan, 42, each pleaded guilty to multiple counts related to their scheme that defrauded the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) out of $2 million.
The brothers, along with others, operated four Cleveland-area stores from January 2008 to March 2012. They exchanged food stamps for cash and other unauthorized items like beer and cigarettes. According to court documents, they also bought food stamp cards from customers and used them at other grocery locations for their own benefit.
Both men were prohibited from participating in the SNAP program due to prior convictions: Saed Wahdan for food stamp trafficking and Maher Wahdan for impersonating an officer. They used aliases to hide their true ownership of the stores, which included One Stop Beverage and Bridge Deli and Beverage.
United States Attorney Steven M. Dettelbach emphasized the importance of combating fraud within government programs. ‘The food stamp program has provided nutritious food to thousands of hungry families,’ he said. ‘We will continue to work to recover money stolen from this program.’
The Wahdans are due for sentencing on April 24, 2014. Another Brook Park man, Nidal Jaber, 45, is also charged in the conspiracy and awaits his charges to be resolved.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christos N. Georgalis, Vasile Katsaros, and James Morford, following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General-Investigations and Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations. The indictment seeks to forfeit properties derived from their criminal proceeds.
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Key Facts
- State: Ohio
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes|Organized Crime|Public Corruption
- Source: Official Source ↗
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