2 MA Men Defrauded SNAP Out Of $7 Million, Prosecutors Say

 Two men are facing charges that they defrauded the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, to the tune of $7 million, according to a statement from U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Leah B. Foley.

Antonio Bonheur, 74, of Mattapan, and Saul Alisme, 21, of Hyde Park, were each charged with a single count of food stamp fraud.

Bonheur owned Jesula Variety Store and Alisme owned Saul Mache Mixe Store, both small variety stores without a street-facing storefront in Mattapan.

Both stores allegedly had "extraordinarily high SNAP redemption volumes, far beyond what could reasonably be supported by legitimate food sales," according to prosecutors. The SNAP redemptions for Jesula Variety Store regularly exceeded $100,000 and were sometime up to $500,000.

By comparison, one full-service supermarket in the same area redeems approximately $82,000 per month in SNAP benefits, prosecutors said.

These SNAP transactions at the small variety stores were frequently for over $95, patterns more associated with large supermarkets.

"These men abused one of government's most critical safety net programs for their own financial gain," Foley said in a press conference. "This is taxpayer money meant to keep people from going hungry... These defendants exchanged SNAP benefits for cash, which they pocketed."

During undercover operations law enforcement conducted at both businesses, SNAP benefits were allegedly trafficked for cash four times from Jesula Variety Store and twice from Saul Mache Mixe Store. Alisme and Bonheur worked the cash register and made the exchange each time, according to prosecutors.

Both men are also accused of selling MannaPack meals, a donated food product manufactured by the nonprofit Feed My Starving Children intended to feed starving children overseas, for $8 per package. The meals are "never authorized for retail sale" and are "intended for humanitarian relief," according to prosecutors.

Each man could face up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.

https://patch.com/massachusetts/boston/2-ma-men-defrauded-snap-out-7-million-prosecutors-say