United States Attorney's Office District of Connecticut
Press Release

FORMER OWNER OF NORWALK GROCERY STORE SENTENCED TO FEDERAL PRISON FOR FOOD STAMP FRAUD

David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that PEDRO L. SERRANO, 51, of Norwalk, was sentenced today by Senior United States District Judge Ellen Bree Burns in New Haven to eight months of imprisonment, followed by eight months of home confinement and two years of supervised release, for defrauding the federal Food Stamp Program.

“Working with our partners at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to prosecuting grocery store owners and employees who defraud the government by taking advantage of this vitally important federal program,” stated U.S. Attorney Fein.

The federal Food Stamp Program is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service and utilizes federal tax dollars to subsidize low-income households, affording such households the opportunity to achieve a more nutritious diet by increasing their food-purchasing power.  Food Stamp recipients purchase eligible food items at retail food stores through the use of an EBT card, which is similar to an ATM card.  Food Stamp benefits may be accepted by authorized retailers only in exchange for eligible items.  Items such as alcoholic beverages, cigarettes, paper goods and soaps are not eligible for purchase with Food Stamp benefits, and it is a violation of the rules and regulations governing the food stamp program to allow benefits to be used to purchase ineligible items.  Food stamp benefits may not lawfully be exchanged for cash under any circumstances.  The program is designed so that the total amount of each purchase is electronically transferred to the retailer’s designated bank account.

According to court documents and statements made in court, SERRANO owned Borinquen Grocery and Deli, located at 71 South Main Street in Norwalk, from approximately December 1999 to September 2004, when he sold the store to his daughter.  In September 2004, SERRANO’s daughter filed an application with the Food Stamp Program for Borinquen Grocery and Deli to participate in the Food Stamp Program.  The application was approved, and Borinquen Grocery and Deli began participating in the Food Stamp Program in October 2004.

Beginning in October 2005, Borinquen Grocery and Deli’s food stamp redemptions began to increase dramatically.  Subsequently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Inspector General (USDA-OIG) began an investigation.  On 12 occasions in 2007 and 2008, an individual working with USDA-OIG entered Borinquen Grocery and Deli and redeemed food stamps totaling $993.18 in exchange for $470 in cash and a combination of eligible and ineligible items, including cigarettes.  SERRANO was the clerk who redeemed the food stamps on 10 of the 12 occasions.  Maria Zuleta, Serrano’s girlfriend and an employee of Borinquen Grocery and Deli, was the clerk on the other two occasions.

Today, Judge Burns ordered SERRANO to pay to the Department of Agriculture restitution in the amount of $147,540.
On February 17, 2010, SERRANO pleaded guilty to one count of food stamp fraud. Zuleta pleaded guilty to the same charge on May 18, 2010.  She awaits sentencing.

Borinquen Grocery and Deli is under new ownership.

This case was investigated by the United States Department of Agriculture, Office of the Inspector General.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Paul H. McConnell.

CONTACT:

U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
thomas.carson@usdoj.gov