A $4.5 million food stamp scam has landed two Paterson grocers in federal prison for paying out cash to customers in return for EBT benefits, the U.S. Attorney s Office announced on Tuesday.
Ibrahim and Miriam Zughbi, of Wayne, were charged in 2018 and later pleaded guilty to exchanging cash payouts for purchases made using the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, which allows beneficiaries to purchase food with a prepaid debit card.
Ibrahim was sentenced to 41 months in prison for fraud and money laundering, while Miriam received a lighter sentence of 21 months for defrauding the federal program.
The couple overcharged customers using their SNAP benefits to buy groceries, and then gave some of the excess amount to the customer in cash, while keeping a portion for themselves, according to charges filed in U.S. District Court.
A Wayne couple is prison-bound for stealing more than four-and-a-half-million dollars in a food stamps fraud scheme, according to federal prosecutors.
Ibrahim Zughbi, 67, was sentenced to just under four years while his 63-year-old wife, Miriam Zughbi was handed a two-year prison term on Tuesday in Trenton federal court.
In addition to prison, a judge has ordered them to pay back the millions they ripped off, exchanging Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for cash and then writing checks to launder the money, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig announced.
Between 2014 and January 2018, the Zughbis owned and worked at Jamaica Meat Market, a grocery store in Paterson that was authorized to accept SNAP benefits, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program.
Last Updated: Tuesday, 04 May 2021 13:17
May 4, 2021 - NEWARK N.J. – A Passaic County, New Jersey, couple were sentenced to prison today for engaging in a food stamps fraud scheme, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig
announced.
Ibrahim Zughbi, 67, of Wayne, New Jersey, was sentenced to 41 months in prison and his wife, Miriam Zughbi, 63, also of Wayne, was sentenced to 24 months in prison. Ibrahim Zughbi previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan to an information charging him with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit fraud and money laundering. Miriam Zughbi previously pleaded guilty to an information charging her with conspiracy to defraud the United States through SNAP benefit fraud. U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson imposed the sentences today in Trenton federal court.