Matthew Abu Diab from Volusia County in Florida, already arrested once for food stamp fraud, will be in jail for nine months after buying food stamp cards for a fraction of their price and using the proceeds to stock the shelves of the 4M Food Mart in Daytona Beach.
The first time Abu Diab was arrested was in 2013, when he illegally purchased EBT cards.
Detective Scott Frantz, with the Daytona Beach Police Department, said, “He immediately went right back out, started doing exactly the same thing, didn’t hesitate for a second what he was doing and now he’s paying the price for it.”
Abu Diab told the judge that his father, Bassam Abu Diab, owned the 4M store. Abu Diab said, “My dad kind of dumped it on to me because he couldn’t be there and he, it really was a guilt trip.”
Police estimated that the Abu Diabs had profited between $150,000 to $200,000 a year by defrauding the government. His attorney, Linda Hadad, said he was unaware of his crime, despite the fact that Abu Diab violated his probation by committing the same crime he had previously committed. “He was 23. He didn’t really know what he was doing. I think he just kind of did whatever his dad told him to do and now he ended up with these really serious charges,” said attorney Linda Hadad.
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