Hiladelphia, PA – In a shocking case of government benefits abuse, Mohammed Abuawada, 27, of Philadelphia, was sentenced yesterday afternoon to 18 months in prison for defrauding the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the food stamp program.
Abuawada, who operated S&S Farmer’s Market, a now-defunct retail grocery store located at 2722 Germantown Avenue in Philadelphia, pleaded guilty to conspiring to traffic in SNAP benefits and commit wire fraud; wire fraud; and aiding and abetting trafficking in SNAP benefits.
According to court documents, Abuawada knowingly assisted the store’s owners in trafficking in SNAP benefits by withdrawing large sums of cash from the store’s bank accounts to fund the fraud. Within a three-month period, he withdrew approximately $209,000 in cash to assist the fraud against USDA, which was carried out by purchasing SNAP benefits from store customers for cash, a practice that is illegal.
In addition to the prison term, Senior U.S. District Court Judge John R. Padova ordered restitution of $209,000 to USDA, three years of supervised release to follow imprisonment, and directed that Abuawada not own or operate any company that accepts SNAP benefits while on supervised release.
The case was investigated by the United States Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mary E. Crawley.
Abuawada must surrender to begin serving his prison term on October 19, 2015.
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Key Facts
- State: Pennsylvania
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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