Behind The $66 Million SNAP Fraud Case In New York

Six New Yorkers have been charged in a massive $66 million SNAP scheme. As SNAP benefits get cut by the current administration, 6 New York State residents violated the system, and worse yet, the ringleader was a federal employee.

Working Families In New York To Lose Medicaid & SNAP Benefits

Contrary to what many people believe, SNAP is not a handout. It helps feed mainly children, the elderly, or disabled people in New York State. It also helps to boost local economies, according to research by the federal government,

"USDA research shows that investments in SNAP generate $1.54 in economic activity for every dollar spent by recipients, including at grocery stores, farmers markets, and small businesses. In New York alone, $7.4 billion in SNAP benefits annually generate $11.5 billion in economic activity across the State."

Per SILive.com, around 300,000 New Yorkers will lose some or all of their monthly benefits thanks to the Republicans' big beautiful bill. The average household is estimated to lose $220 in benefits each month.

KEEP READING: How Little Money Do You Have To Make In New York To Be ‘Poor’?

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6 New Yorkers Charged In Massive SNAP Scheme

As working families in New York are fighting for their meager benefits, a USDA employee helped orchestrate a devastating fraud scam. Described as "one of the largest food stamp frauds in U.S. history," five New York residents have been charged, along with the brainchild of the scam. USDA employee Arlasa Davis, along with the head honcho, Michael Kehoe, are being held responsible. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is a federal agency that provides,

"Resources and support for food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, nutrition, and related issues."

The scheme began in 2019, under Trump's first term (January 20, 2017 – January 20, 2021), when Kehoe and his co-conspirators, with the help of Davis, who worked for the division of the USDA responsible for identifying SNAP fraud, ran a network that supplied 160 unauthorized EBT terminals in stores around New York. These terminals illegally processed more than $30 million in EBT transactions. Davis abused her access as a federal employee to sell hundreds of EBT license numbers, which resulted in over $36 million in fraudulent SNAP redemptions at unauthorized stores.

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The defendants are:

Michael Kehoe, age 46, of Long Island, New York
Arlasa Davis, age 56, of Gardiner, New York
Omar Nawafleh, age 34, of the Bronx, New York
Omar Alrawashdeh, age 37, of the Bronx, New York
Obaid Alrawashdeh, age 39, of the Bronx, New York
Emad Alrawashdeh, age 37, of the Bronx, New York

Each of the above has been charged with:

- one count of conspiracy to steal government funds and misappropriate USDA benefits, up to 5 years in prison
- one count of theft of government funds, up to 10 years in prison
- one count of misappropriation of USDA benefits, up to 20 years in prison

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Davis has also been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, up to five years in prison; one count of bribery, up to 15 years in prison; and one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, up to 20 years in prison.
Nawafleh received an additional charge of one count of failure to appear, up to 10 years in prison.

Fraud like this steals money from poor and working-class New Yorkers who rely on SNAP benefits to avoid hunger. When the scam began, Trump was president, so I guess it is poetic justice that the suspects have been busted during his second term, after he launched a campaign to stop the very fraud that happened under his first term.