A Harrison native and grocery store clerk is facing 10 years in prison after allowing customers to redeem their food stamp benefits for cash and other items not covered under the federal program.
According to U.S. Attorney Deirdre Daly, who represents the district of Connecticut, Tahir Shahzad, 33, of Harrison, pleaded guilty in Hartford federal court to one count of conspiracy to commit food stamp fraud and another count of unlawful use of food stamp benefits on April 17.
Shahzad, who worked at WB Trade Fair Grocery, located at 43 Willow St. in Waterbury, Connecticut, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty to allowing customers to redeem their food stamp benefits in return for money and other ineligible items, including cigarettes, glass pipes, bongs and hookahs.
He charged customers’ food stamp cards approximately double the value for the illegal transactions from November 2014 to June 2016, according to Daly.
The U.S. attorney’s office estimates that food stamp redemptions at the store totaled $3.2 million during the 18-month period. However, with the stock of eligible food items at the store and the number of registers and the customer amenities, it is estimated that the store could only lawfully redeem at most $120,000 to $240,000 each year in food stamp benefits.
Two men who worked at WB Trade Fair Grocery previously pleaded guilty to the same charges. Raul Carlos Monarca-Gonzalez pleaded guilty last November and was sentenced to 30 months of imprisonment. Tallat Mahmood pleaded guilty last month and is currently awaiting a sentence; he’s expected to return to court on July 12.
The federal Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program, SNAP, is administered by the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service and utilizes federal tax dollars to subsidize low-income households.
SNAP does not cover alcoholic beverages, cigarettes, paper goods and other items such as soap. It’s also a violation to allow the benefits to be swapped for cash.
Shahzad, the nephew of the store owner, is scheduled to return to court on July 13 after being released on a $50,000 bond. He faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a fine of up to twice the gross loss from the offense; he also owes restitution.
