SEATTLE — The owner of a small Tacoma grocery store pleaded not guilty Wednesday to federal charges alleging he defrauded a government nutrition program of more than $600,000.
Manjit Bedi, 64, of Kent, was arraigned in U.S. District Court in Tacoma on multiple counts of wire fraud and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit fraud, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors allege Bedi exchanged SNAP benefits for cash, allowing recipients to receive only a portion of the funds while he kept the rest…