Abdul Alquraishi, Food Stamp Scheme, PA 2024

Four Erie residents are staring down federal prison time after being indicted in a brazen food stamp fraud scheme tied to a State Street convenience store. Abdul Alquraishi, 50; Hussain K. Al-Maliki, 50; Dhia Almaleki, 46; and Muntather Alquraishi, 24, were named in a four-count indictment unsealed in Erie federal court, accused of systematically cashing out food stamp benefits for profit.

The operation centered on The Lotto World, also known as Samir’s and Lotto World Convenience, located at 832 State Street. According to the indictment, the defendants regularly exchanged SNAP benefits for cash, turning the store into a backdoor ATM for illicit payouts. They also permitted customers to wipe away store credit using government-issued food stamp cards—both clear violations of federal law.

Abdul Alquraishi allegedly extended the fraud beyond the storefront, using customers’ Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards to purchase goods at multiple retailers across the region. Investigators say the scheme was not sporadic but a sustained effort to exploit the public assistance system for personal gain.

The stakes are high: Abdul Alquraishi, Hussain K. Al-Maliki, and Dhia Almaleki each face up to 10 years in federal prison and a $500,000 fine. Muntather Alquraishi faces a maximum of 5 years behind bars and a $250,000 fine. Under federal sentencing guidelines, actual time served will reflect the depth of the fraud and any prior records.

Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold is leading the prosecution. The case was built through a multi-agency dragnet involving the USDA Office of Inspector General, Homeland Security Investigations, IRS-Criminal Investigations, and the Erie Police Department—a sign of the federal spotlight now trained on local fraud rings.

An indictment is not a conviction. Each defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. But the charges lay bare a pattern of exploitation that federal authorities say undermines one of America’s most vital safety net programs.