In a significant development in a federal food stamp fraud case, 74-year-old Antonio Bonheur of Mattapan, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty to one count of food stamp fraud as part of a plea deal.
Bonheur, who operated the small Jesula Variety Store, admitted to his role in a multimillion-dollar scheme that trafficked nearly $7 million in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits through his and an adjacent store run by 21-year-old Saul Alisme of Hyde Park.
The stores, despite their tiny size and limited inventory, processed suspiciously high SNAP redemptions—often exceeding $100,000 to $500,000 monthly, far outpacing nearby supermarkets—by illegally exchanging benefits for cash (including for liquor purchases) and using multiple accounts to launder proceeds…