Federal prosecutors in Northern Ohio announced SNAP fraud charges against nine people on October 22, including six accused of swapping benefit cards for cash at a Euclid gas station and two accused of taking benefits as payment for crack cocaine at a Cleveland corner store. The nine are spread across three separate cases. U.S. Attorney David Toepfer said, “You cannot exchange food program benefits for cash, illegal drugs, or anything else – it is a violation of federal law.”
Who are the six at the Euclid gas station?
The six were charged by complaint on October 6, according to the Northern District of Ohio release. They are Sqar Qahtan, 31, Baligh Naji, 34, Ahmed Al Hamami, 36, and Mariah Hatcher, 30, all of Euclid, plus Mohsin Mohsin, 28, of Syracuse, New York, and Almotawakil Nassr, 29, of Detroit.
Prosecutors allege that for about two years the group exchanged Ohio SNAP cards for cash, marijuana and other items SNAP does not cover, while working at a gas station convenience store in Euclid. The release does not name the store. The members prosecutors have identified obtained at least $64,000 in benefits…