The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has discovered a major food stamp fraud and bribery scheme, misappropriating millions of taxpayer dollars. This has led to the arrest of a USDA employee and five others.
What Happened: The USDA, along with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office, has indicted six individuals in connection with a bribery and fraud scheme involving the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), allegedly resulting in over $66 million in unauthorized transactions, stated a federal press release on Friday.
The defendants, namely Michael Kehoe, Mohamad Nawafleh, Omar Alrawashdeh, Gamal Obaid, Emad Alrawashdeh and Arlasa Davis, are charged with “conspiracy to steal government funds and to misappropriate U.S. Department of Agriculture benefits,” as per a press release.
“This fraud was made possible when USDA employee Arlasa Davis betrayed the public trust by selling confidential government information to the very criminals she was supposed to catch,” declared U.S. Attorney Perry Carbone.
According to the indictment, the scheme started in 2019 with the formation of a network that distributed 160 unauthorized electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards to stores throughout New York, illegally processing more than $30 million in EBT transactions.
The group also faces accusations of submitting fraudulent USDA applications, misusing license numbers, and falsifying documents to register unauthorized stores.
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Why It Matters: The Trump administration had been vocal about its intentions to revamp food assistance programs. In February, the new leadership at the USDA, including Kailee Buller, the chief of staff, had criticized the previous administration for what they termed as “financial mismanagement” of food benefits. The Trump administration had pledged to correct these issues.
On the other hand, the rollout of the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) food box initiative had been met with uncertainty and criticism, making it difficult for food organizations to plan ahead. The sudden changes and lack of communication from the Trump administration had also been a point of concern.
The 2026 budget proposal aims to cut the $425 million Commodity Supplemental Food Program, replacing it with “MAHA boxes” sourced directly from U.S. farmers, a move that could affect the grocery lifeline of over 730,000 seniors.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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