Four South Florida store owners or operators are facing federal criminal charges after investigators accused them of running a massive, years-long scheme to defraud the nation’s supplemental nutrition program out of more than $19 million by trading benefits for cash.
A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging the men for their roles in trafficking taxpayer-funded food benefits across Miami-Dade and Broward counties from July 2019 through May 2026, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami announced Thursday.
According to federal court records, the defendants operated through three neighborhood retail locations to defraud the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP):
- Brown Sugar, owned by Rajaie Ahmad Ali, 63, of Miramar.
- Kwik Stop, owned by Sami Jamhour, 43, of Hollywood.
- Quickie Mini Market, owned by Cristian Giovanni Amaro, 27, of Miami.
Prosecutors also said Adel Amro, 23, of Fort Myers, served as a recruiter, seeking out SNAP recipients willing to exchange their benefits for cash, prosecutors said…