TAMPA, Fla. — A 59-year-old man from Tampa was sentenced to 12 months in federal prison for making false statements and conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Department of Justice said in a news release Wednesday.
Ahmad Al Saleh joined in a conspiracy to defraud and also made false statements to the USDA in 2015 when he said that he was purchasing a convenience store in St. Petersburg that was enrolled to accept USDA Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, the DOJ says court documents show.
The program reportedly supplements the food budget of families in need so they can buy healthy food and move toward self-sufficiency.
The prior owner of the convenience store was prohibited by the USDA from accepting any SNAP benefit purchases and he was also not allowed to work at the store, DOJ says.
He then joined with Al Saleh and other people to make false records and representations that the 59-year-old had bought the store and that he was operating it himself, according to the DOJ.
However, the previous store owner was still managing the store and also making money from it, which is how he would pay Al Saleh a small fee for using his name as the store owner on USDA documents, the DOJ says.
The prior owner reportedly also committed several acts of SNAP benefits trafficking, including buying SNAP benefits from customers and paying for them in cash.
The DOJ says the total damages from the prior owner to the SNAP program while operating under Al Saleh's ownership was about $654,502.84, which the court has ordered the 59-year-old to make restitution to the USDA.
The USDA, Homeland Security Investigations and St. Petersburg Police Department investigated the case.
