Two people have been charged for running a food stamp fraud scheme out of a New York bodega, where the pair trafficked and stole millions of dollars in benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, according to an indictment unsealed Tuesday.

Dawood Kassim, 31, and Dia Alqalisi, 26, allegedly used a bodega in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in Brooklyn as "ground zero" for their scheme to steal over $20 million in SNAP benefits, the U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of New York, said in a statement. Kassim was the owner of the bodega Throop Farm Market, which was not authorized to process SNAP transactions.

But from the bodega, prosecutors said Kassim and Alqalisi engaged in thousands of fraudulent SNAP transactions between April and December 2022. 

On Feb. 14, a grand jury returned an indictment charging the pair with one count of SNAP fraud, the indictment states. Kassim was also charged with two counts of access device fraud and four counts of engaging in unlawful monetary transactions.

Kassim and Alqalisi were arrested Tuesday morning, according to a news release from the Department of Justice. 

"As alleged, the defendants trafficked and stole a massive amount of SNAP benefits from thousands of victims, illegally profiting from federally funded benefits intended for those in need of nutritious meals — which is especially vital in these times of high food costs," U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement. "The arrests today should be a wakeup call to those who think government programs are a piggy bank they can pillage without fear of consequences."

SNAP provides food benefits to eligible low-income families to help supplement grocery budgets. The benefits are sent through an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card that can be used at participating businesses. On average, 41.2 million Americans received monthly SNAP benefits in the 2022 fiscal year, according to the Pew Research Center.

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'Engaged in a sophisticated scheme'

Prosecutors alleged that for about eight months, Kassim and Alqalisi "engaged in a sophisticated scheme" that allowed SNAP recipients to exchange their benefits for cash or non-SNAP eligible goods. The pair then would keep a portion of the benefits as payment for themselves.

In one instance, an undercover agent entered Throop Farm Market and used an EBT card to pay for a beer, and requested cash back on the card, according to court documents. A clerk at the bodega retrieved $150 cash from the register and gave the cash, beer, and an EBT receipt to the agent.

For the transaction, court documents stated that the clerk charged $214 to the EBT card, even though non-SNAP-eligible items were purchased. Prosecutors alleged that the bodega stole about $60 and facilitated the misuse of $214 in SNAP benefits.

"Surveillance footage captured in October and November of 2022 show defendants Dia Alqalisi and Dawood Kassim engaging in this activity — trafficking SNAP benefits illegally," according to court documents.

'Unsuspecting victims' across several states

Prosecutors also alleged that Kassim stole SNAP benefits from "unsuspecting victims" by using counterfeit and stolen EBT cards at Throop Farm Market. The victims included SNAP recipients who resided in Tennessee, Virginia, and California, among other states, according to the Justice Department.

Kassim allegedly swiped numerous counterfeit or stolen EBT cards through a terminal and entered corresponding PINs without victims' knowledge or permission, according to court documents.

Surveillance footage from Nov. 17, 2022, captured a clerk at the bodega swiping a stack of plastic cards "one-by-one" at an EBT terminal, court documents stated. Records from the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed that SNAP transactions from the bodega on that day were stolen benefits.

"Through these transactions, the defendants received over $20 million in federally funded SNAP benefits, including over $7 million worth of SNAP benefits from accounts of recipients living outside of New York," the Justice Department said.

On Dec. 14, 2022, law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at the bodega and seized five EBT terminals, over nine thousand dollars in cash, and two New York state EBT cards belonging to other individuals, according to court documents. Authorities also seized three blank, white plastic cards that can be programmed as counterfeit EBT cards.

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Victims reported stolen SNAP benefits

Numerous victims had reported that their SNAP benefits were emptied from their accounts, which left them unable to pay for food and other daily necessities, according to court documents. 

Court documents also showed that some victims had responded to the fraud by posting Google reviews about Throop Farm Market, “complaining that their EBT cards were used at the bodega without their permission.”

In December 2022, Oklahoma City television station KFOR reported hundreds of Oklahoma residents were impacted by scams targeting low-income families who use SNAP.

Victims saw a combined loss of about $500,000 and some of the funds appeared to be withdrawn at several businesses in New York, including Throop Farm Market, according to KFOR.

"Thousands of SNAP benefit recipients have been victim to the defendants’ fraud, some of whom have never been able to recover the stolen benefits," prosecutors alleged.