Free Republic

Two Boston men were arrested and charged with fraud that authorities say raked in so much Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) money that their tally began to outpace legitimate supermarkets. The men — Antonio Bonheur, 74, and Saul Alisme, 21 — allegedly operated their scams out of two small variety stores in the Mattapan neighborhood, according to the Department of Justice (1). Despite their small size and limited food offerings, these stores allegedly reported extremely high SNAP redemption volumes that went “far beyond what could reasonably be supported by legitimate food sales.” “To be certain, these were not supermarkets. They...

Authorities in Massachusetts charged two Haitian men with SNAP program fraud amounting to over $7 million on Wednesday. The suspects, 74-year-old Antonio Bonheur and 21-year-old Saul Alisme, each face one charge of food stamp fraud. District of Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said the two men used small storefronts, the Jesula Variety Store and Saul Mache Mixe Store, to redeem the SNAP benefits sometimes amounting to $500,000 per month. "These were not supermarkets. They were not full-service groceries. It would be a huge stretch to even call them convenience stores," Foley said at a Wednesday press conference. "The only thing...