Muhammad Shahbaz, Food Stamp Fraud, Connecticut 2019

Food Stamp Scandal Rocks Waterbury

Waterbury Grocery Store Worker Muhammad Shahbaz, 50, of Jersey City, New Jersey, has pleaded guilty to defrauding the federal food stamp program out of millions of dollars. According to court documents, Shahbaz worked at WB Trade Fair Grocery, located at 43 Willow Street in Waterbury, where he and others allowed customers to redeem their food stamp benefits for cash and other ineligible items.

In 2015 and 2016, Shahbaz and his accomplices engaged in a brazen scheme to defraud the Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program, also known as SNAP. SNAP recipients purchase eligible food items at retail stores through the use of an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card. However, Shahbaz and his co-conspirators illegally allowed customers to redeem their food stamp benefits for cash and other ineligible items, including cigarettes and a tall glass bong. Shahbaz charged customers’ food stamp cards approximately double the value for these illegal transactions.

The extent of the fraud was staggering. Given the stock of eligible food items at the store, the number of registers and the customer amenities, it is estimated that WB Trade Fair Grocery could lawfully redeem, at most, between $120,000 to $240,000 per year in food stamp benefits. However, during an approximately 18-month period in 2015 and 2016, food stamp redemptions at the store totaled approximately $3.2 million.

Shahbaz is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant on October 2, 2019. He faces a maximum term of imprisonment of five years. This is not the first time Shahbaz’s accomplices have been caught. Raul Carlos Monarca-Gonzalez and Tallat Mahmood, who also worked at WB Trade Fair Grocery, previously pleaded guilty to food stamp fraud and were each sentenced to 30 months of imprisonment. Tahir Shahzad, another accomplice, awaits sentencing.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General, investigated the case, and it is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anastasia King and Neeraj Patel. This scandal highlights the need for greater oversight and accountability in the food stamp program to prevent similar cases of fraud in the future.

As a result of this investigation, Muhammad Shahbaz will face the consequences of his actions. His conviction serves as a reminder that those who engage in food stamp fraud will be held accountable for their crimes.

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