Three men are going to prison after they were convicted of engaging in a $1.2 million food stamp fraud scheme in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Kanwar Gill, 67, Raviinder Gill, 27, and George Nance, 59, will be serving hard time for several months in federal prison after a judge sentenced the men for running a food stamp fraud scheme where they exchanged cash for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports.
U.S. District Judge J.P. Stadtmueller gave Kanwar Gill a 15-month prison sentence, Raviinder Gill a 20-month sentence, and George Nance an 18-month sentence.
The three men ran a Milwaukee store called Quick N EZ from 2013 to 2015 that was authorized to process food stamp benefits.
Clerks traded cash for food stamp benefits, often giving customers cash for half the value of the food stamp benefits.
The store redeemed $1.2 million worth of food stamp benefits, far beyond the amount a store of that size is expected to redeem, officials said.
Records show that all three men were ordered to pay restitution for the money they stole from the food stamp program.
Other instances of store owners being sentenced to prison for food stamp fraud have occurred over the past few months.
A judge sentenced a Kentucky store owner to 66 months in prison in August for engaging in $409,000 worth of food stamp fraud. In May, a judge sentenced a Baltimore, Maryland, store owner to four years in prison for illegally trafficking $3.7 million worth of food stamps and ordered him to pay restitution.
Food stamp fraud is not limited to store owners. Many times the recipients themselves are guilty of defrauding the government. An Ohio millionaire who was convicted of welfare fraud in September collected more than $8,300 worth of food stamps even though he had millions of dollars in his bank account.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.