Grocery Store Owner Charged With Trafficking SNAP Benefits

PHILADELPHIA - Mohammed Uddin, 51, of Philadelphia, PA, was charged by indictment, unsealed today, with defrauding a government assistance program, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.  Uddin is charged with 15 counts of wire fraud and 13 counts of trafficking in SNAP benefits.  SNAP is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as the federal Food Stamp program, run by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service to reduce and end hunger in the United States.

Uddin owned and operated Al Madina Halal Meat & Grocery, a retail grocery store, located at 6637 Castor Avenue in Philadelphia.  According to the indictment, the defendant trafficked SNAP benefits by purchasing those benefits from customers of Al Madina Halal Meat & Grocery in exchange for cash, which is illegal.  It is further alleged that between January 2012 and September 2015, as a result of his trafficking activities, defendant sought and received from USDA, redemption of more than $1 million in SNAP benefits.

If convicted, defendant Uddin faces a substantial period of incarceration, restitution to the program, a $2,800 special assessment, up to three years of supervised release, and possible fines.

The case was investigated by the United States Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joan E. Burnes.

An indictment is an accusation.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.