Ithaca Convenience Store Owner Sentenced for Committing Food Stamp Fraud

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Abdul Jalil, age 55, of Ithaca, New York, was sentenced yesterday to five years’ probation for federal food stamp fraud, announced United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman, Bethanne M. Dinkins, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and John Joly, Acting Chief of the Ithaca Police Department. 

As part of his guilty plea, the defendant admitted that he exchanged food stamp benefits for cash with customers at his store, the Ithaca Halal Meat and Grocery, which is prohibited by the USDA, resulting in a loss to the government of $120,061.  Following today’s sentencing, the defendant paid full restitution to the government.  

This case was investigated by the United States Department of Agriculture – Office of Inspector General, the Ithaca Police Department, and the Ithaca Department of Social Services, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tamara Thomson.