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Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

Police & Fire
South Jersey Grocery Store Owner Admits $260,000 Food Stamp Scam South Jersey Grocery Store Owner Admits $260,000 Food Stamp Scam
South Jersey Grocery Store Owner Admits $260,000 Food Stamp Scam A Camden grocery store owner admitted trading drugs and cash for government-issued debit cards that he and several accomplices used to steal $260,000 in benefits intended for families in need. Luciano Estevez, 50, pleaded guilty on Wednesday via teleconference after federal agents caught him and three of the others in a sting, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, allows users to buy necessary groceries. Although exchanging SNAP cards for cash is illegal, Estevez and his acco…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Newark Grocery Store Father, Son Sentenced In $3.49M Federal SNAP Benefits Fraud Newark Grocery Store Father, Son Sentenced In $3.49M Federal SNAP Benefits Fraud
Newark Grocery Store Father, Son Sentenced In $3.49M Federal SNAP Benefits Fraud A Newark man was sentenced to more than three years in federal prison and his son to 15 months of home detention Thursday for blatantly exchanging federal food benefits for $3.49 million in cash. Juan Perdomo ran M&R Supermarket in Newark, which accepted Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments through government-issued debit cards issued to families in need. The federally funded program, formerly known as food stamps, allows users to purchase food, but the benefit cannot be exchanged for cash. Authorities say Perdomo, along with his son, Jose, and wife, Maria Rodrigue…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Newark Store Owner Admits Pocketing $750,000 Of Taxpayer Money In Federal Food Voucher Scam Newark Store Owner Admits Pocketing $750,000 Of Taxpayer Money In Federal Food Voucher Scam
Newark Store Owner Admits Pocketing $750,000 Of Taxpayer Money In Federal Food Voucher Scam A now-former Newark store owner who was captured after fleeing the country admitted Thursday that he scammed the federal government out of more than $750,000 through a federal food voucher scheme. Jamil Bader, 60, put a small grocery store that he owned on Clinton Avenue in Newark in another person’s name because he’d been banned from participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) because of similar wrongdoing, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. This time, Bader admitted, he “repeatedly exchanged SNAP benefits for cash and kept a portion of the proceeds for himself,”…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Newark Man Admits Helping Scam $1.9M From Nutrition Aid Program Newark Man Admits Helping Scam $1.9M From Nutrition Aid Program
Newark Man Admits Helping Scam $1.9M From Nutrition Aid Program A man who worked at a Newark grocery store admitted that he used the business to help defraud a federal aid program of $1.9 million, the U.S. Attorney's Office said Thursday.  Jose Perdomo, 34, worked at M&R Supermarket, which his father Juan managed since the business opened in 2015. The supermarket was authorized to accept payment through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which issues electronic debit cards that can be used by low-income recipients to purchase food.  Perdomo admitted exchanging SNAP benefits for cash, which is illegal. Undercover …

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by Paul Milo
Police & Fire
Feds: Grocery Managers From Wayne Sold $4M Worth Of Food Stamps For Cash Feds: Grocery Managers From Wayne Sold $4M Worth Of Food Stamps For Cash
Feds: Grocery Managers From Wayne Sold $4M Worth Of Food Stamps For Cash WAYNE, N.J. -- A married Wayne couple who managed a grocery store sold $4 million worth of food stamps for cash, federal authorities charged. Ibrahim Zughbi, 64, Miriam Zughbi, 59, have operated Jamaica Meat Market, a medium-size grocery store in Paterson, since January 2014. They were authorized to accept benefits provided by SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, which is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said."Retail food stores approved for participation in SNAP may sell food in exchange for SNAP benefits," Carpenito sai…

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by Jerry DeMarco