Tallat Mahood, Unlawful Use of Food Stamp Benefits, Connecticut 2016

Waterbury, CT – In a stunning blow to the Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program, a local grocery store worker has pleaded guilty to using food stamp benefits for cash and other ineligible items.

Tallat Mahood, 64, of Waterbury, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty yesterday in Hartford federal court to one count of unlawful use of food stamp benefits and one count of conspiracy to commit food stamp fraud.

According to court documents, Mahood worked at WB Trade Fair Grocery, located at 43 Willow Street in Waterbury. From November 2014 until June 2016, Mahood and others illegally allowed customers to redeem their food stamp benefits for cash and other ineligible items.

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 this approximately 18-month period, food stamp redemptions at the store totaled approximately $3.2 million.

Mahood was arrested on August 18, 2016, and is released on a $50,000 bond. He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant on July 12, 2017, at which time he faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years, a fine of up to twice the gross loss from the offense, and restitution.

The U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Deirdre M. Daly, announced Mahood’s guilty plea yesterday. The federal Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program is administered by the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, and utilizes federal tax dollars to subsidize low-income households to provide them with the opportunity to achieve a more nutritious diet by increasing their food-purchasing power.

This matter is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anastasia King and Neeraj Patel.

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