Nicole Gordon and Stanley Saxton, Food Stamp Fraud, Pennsylvania 2013

A convenience store in Wilkinsburg has become the center of a major food stamp scandal, with the owners pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and food stamp fraud.

Nicole Gordon, 34, and her brother Stanley Saxton, 44, co-owners and operators of Nicky’s Corner on Montier Street in Wilkinsburg, each pled guilty to one count of conspiracy before Senior District Judge Maurice B. Cohill, Jr.

The siblings also executed civil settlement agreements for violations of the False Claims Act, agreeing to pay to the United States the sum of $119,871.

According to information presented to the court, Nicky’s Corner participated in the United States Department of Agriculture’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as the food stamp program.

However, despite knowing that program rules strictly prohibited the exchange of food stamp benefits for cash and/or for ineligible items, such as cigarettes, Gordon and Saxton engaged in this practice, exchanging food stamp benefits with customers in exchange for cash on a discounted basis.

The investigation, led by the Office of the Inspector General for the United States Department of Agriculture and the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, revealed that Gordon and Saxton permitted customers to use food stamp benefits to pay for ineligible items, such as cigarettes.

Assistant United States Attorney Tonya Sulia Goodman is prosecuting this case on behalf of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, while Assistant United States Attorney Colin Callahan is litigating the case on behalf of the Affirmative Civil Enforcement Section of the United States Attorney’s Office.

Judge Cohill scheduled sentencing for Dec. 4, 2013 at 10 a.m. for Saxton and 11 a.m. for Gordon. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of five years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both.

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