Million-dollar SNAP food stamp fraud scheme in Walz's backyard sparks outrage: 'Cruel joke'
Authorities in Minnesota have filed criminal charges against a man accused of a food stamp fraud scheme that defrauded taxpayers out of over $1 million. Abdidwahid Mohamed, the owner of...
By Fox News · Fox News
Authorities in Minnesota have filed criminal charges against a man accused of a food stamp fraud scheme that defrauded taxpayers out of over $1 million. Abdidwahid Mohamed, the owner of Minnesota Food Grocery LLC, allegedly used EBT cards registered to others to purchase items at Sam’s Club and Costco in 2021 before turning around and reselling them in his store, Fox 9 Minneapolis reported. Authorities in Hennepin County say they observed Mohamed making purchases and followed him back to his store with the goods. Surveillance footage and GPS data backed this up, while investigators noted that many of the EBT cardholders were either out of the country or say they never shopped at the stores he used. SNAP, the federal program allegedly abused by Mohamed, provides food assistance to low-income households through EBT cards that function like debit cards. FOOD-STAMP FRAUD NUMBERS EXPOSE WHICH STATES ARE DRAINING THE MOST TAXPAYER DOLLARS "Mohamed received $1,141,082 in EBT payments," according to the complaint, which added that the plan "involved a high degree of sophistication or planning or occurred over a lengthy period of time." Mohamed faces up to 20 years in prison or a $100,000 fine if found guilty. "Minneapolis didn't become America's fraud capital by accident," Dalia al-Aqidi, a Republican running for Congress in Minnesota's 5th Congressional District against Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., told Fox News Digital. "It was earned. This week, it's a grocer charged with running up $1.1 million in charges on other people's EBT cards. Next week, it will be something else, but the bill always lands on the Minnesotans who actually pay taxes." Aqidi says that families tell her "affordability" is what "keeps them up night" and the "cruel joke is that the money is here to really make a difference for people." MINNESOTA MILLIONAIRE WHO QUALIFIED FOR FOOD STAMPS WARNS OF 'FRAUD BY DESIGN' LOOPHOLE AHEAD OF HEARING "It is just lining the wrong pockets and paying for luxury cars an…