A convenience store owner and her former spouse, an employee, were handed prison sentences on May 21 for engaging in a “food stamp trafficking scheme” in which over $1 million in SNAP benefits were illegally exchanged for cash over a 10-year period.
Mervat Gharib, 60, and Adam Rashwan, 63, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, had pleaded guilty and were both sentenced to 21 months behind bars, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. The duo were also ordered to pay over $1 million back into SNAP.
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Here’s how authorities caught on to the scheme. Plus details on SNAP fraud across the U.S., and how it impacts the users of the program who rely on these benefits to put food on the table.
How the pair were caught
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides government funds to low-income households to buy groceries each month. SNAP recipients get a program card that works like a debit card, and licensed stores swipe this card during a transaction.
According to the Attorney’s Office, Gharib and Rashwan were involved in a “food stamp trafficking scheme” — exchanging benefits for cash and “charging the customer a significant percentage of the amount of the unlawful transaction.” Often, this means retailers pay pennies on the dollars while they collect the entire benefit.
Gharib was listed as the owner of Capital City Family Market, and Rashwan a staff member. Authorities became suspicious after noticing the store had processed SNAP transactions averaging $238.86 in May 2021 — while average amounts at nearby establishments at the time were $11.58 for convenience stores and $23.16 for small grocery stores, per the news release.
An investigation was launched, and ultimately it was determined that between January 2011 and June 2021, around $1,091,822.05 in SNAP benefits were illegally diverted through Capital City Family Market. The store has since closed.
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The impact of SNAP fraud
There are several forms of SNAP fraud, which include recipients misusing benefits or lying about their eligibility, retailer fraud as described above and the stealing of benefits, among others.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office reported that in fiscal year 2023, an estimated 11.7% of SNAP benefits paid out by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) were “improper” — meaning the program had dispersed more money to an individual or household than they were truly qualified for. This accounted for about $10.5 billion of the program’s overall $90.1 billion in payments, not including disaster benefits.
The theft of recipients’ benefits — whether through card skimming, card cloning or other methods — has been widespread enough that states were approved to use federal funds to replace benefits stolen from Oct. 1, 2022, to Dec. 20, 2024. The USDA published a tracker of replaced stolen benefits, which shows the value of replaced benefits was around $190 million in fiscal year 2024.
Outside of fraud, on the horizon, President Donald Trump’s upcoming budget bill, could put deep cuts to SNAP, among other programs, into play.
All of the above has an impact on more than 40 million Americans who use the program, especially as the cost of living remains high in many areas of the country.
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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
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