MIAMI.- The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida announced that the region will be the first site of a national plan to pursue the diversion of food aid. The initiative will bring together prosecutors, investigators and analysis specialists.
United States Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Inspector General John Walk recently announced the Hunger Assistance Enforcement and Accountability Teams (HEAT) initiative.
The teams will examine theft and illegal trading of profits, identity theft and irregular commercial operations. They will cover the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).
The statement explains that the region was chosen for its extensive commercial activity, demographic diversity and international connections. Federal, state and local agencies participate, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office (MDSO).
In a case unsealed on October 30, the U.S. Attorney’s Office accused Hollywood merchant Al Amin, 52, of participating in an operation that allegedly used more than $500,000 in nutritional assistance to purchase merchandise intended for resale.
According to the indictment, the suspect and others purchased electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards using cash payments equal to approximately half of their available balance. Later, they allegedly used these resources to make wholesale purchases in different establishments.
Some of the merchandise, the accusation maintains, supplied his store; the rest were allegedly sold to other businesses in the area.
Amin faces one count of conspiracy related to the unauthorized acquisition and use of aid and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. If convicted, the maximum sentences are five years for the first and 20 for the second. The case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the USDA Office of Inspector General.
For its part, the Florida Department of Financial Services (DFS) announced on October 29 the arrest of Anwar Jouda for an alleged diversion of $862,394.95 in another file related to a Miami-Dade business authorized to receive SNAP payments.
According to that agency, the operation would have used identity data of a victim and his establishment, without his knowledge or consent, to create fraudulent commercial accounts and redirect deposits to the personal and business accounts of the investigated.
The indictment describes false trade applications, falsified documents, altered banking information and deceptive communications. Investigators also attribute Jouda to sending a portion of the funds to Ramallah, in the West Bank, through international transfers, information they shared with their federal partners.
Jouda was charged with grand theft, organized scheme to defraud and criminal use of personally identifiable information. Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernández Rundle, and Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz participated in the announcement.
The two files correspond to different investigations and their allegations must be proven in court. Altogether, the amounts that authorities attribute to the operations exceed $1.3 million.
