Two Massachusetts men are accused of trafficking nearly $7 million in food assistance benefits meant for low-income families, federal prosecutors in Boston said Wednesday.
Antonio Bonheur, 74, of Mattapan, and Saul Alisme, 21, of Hyde Park, were arrested Wednesday morning and charged with food stamp fraud. U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said the pair ran a scheme that “turned a program to feed families into a multimillion-dollar criminal enterprise.”
Prosecutors said the defendants operated small retail stores that recorded unusually high levels of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) redemptions, far exceeding what their size, inventory and food offerings could reasonably support. In one case, a store’s monthly SNAP redemptions topped $100,000 and at times reached more than $500,000. By comparison, a full-service supermarket in Boston typically redeems about $82,000 a month in SNAP benefits.
Investigators conducting undercover operations said the defendants personally exchanged SNAP benefits for cash. Authorities also allege that both stores sold liquor in exchange for SNAP benefits, which is prohibited.
“This is taxpayer money meant to keep people from going hungry,” Foley said. “These defendants decided to take it for themselves.”
