Manuel Venegas, 53, and his daughter Maria Teresa Venegas, 25, both of Newark, New Jersey, are under federal indictment for allegedly running a cash-for-food stamps racket through their family-owned grocery store, Jenny’s Deli, netting over $885,000 in illicit gains. The pair were arrested this morning and charged with SNAP benefits fraud, a scheme prosecutors say ran unchecked from 2011 to 2018.
According to a criminal complaint unsealed today, the Venegases exploited their store’s federal authorization to accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits—meant only for the purchase of food—by systematically exchanging them for cold hard cash. Jenny’s Deli, a small storefront in a working-class Newark neighborhood, became a hub for illegal redemption, with investigators citing a suspiciously high volume of SNAP transactions as an early red flag.
Undercover operations confirmed the fraud. Law enforcement deployed an agent who conducted nearly two dozen controlled exchanges at the store, each time handing over SNAP benefits and walking out with cash—direct evidence implicating both Manuel and Maria Teresa Venegas in the illegal transactions. The USDA’s Office of Inspector General, which led the investigation, documented the exchanges as part of a broader crackdown on retail abuse of the nutrition program.
The fraud carried significant financial impact: more than $885,000 in taxpayer-funded benefits were siphoned from a program designed to feed low-income families. SNAP rules strictly prohibit cash exchanges, but the Venegases allegedly treated the system as a personal ATM, undermining the integrity of a critical safety net. The scheme spanned seven years, raising questions about oversight and detection failures.
Each defendant now faces a single count of SNAP benefits fraud, a federal offense that carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000—or twice the gross gain from the crime, whichever is greater. Both were released on a $200,000 unsecured bond following their appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph A. Dickson in Newark federal court.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason S. Gould. Defense counsel include Linda Foster, Esq., representing Maria Teresa Venegas, and Laurie Fierro, Esq., representing Manuel Venegas. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, led by Craig Carpenito, emphasized that the complaint contains only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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Key Facts
- State: New Jersey
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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