Prosecutors charge Haitian men with $7 million SNAP fraud in Massachusetts

Authorities in Massachusetts on Wednesday charged two Haitian men with more than $7 million in SNAP program fraud.

The suspects, 74-year-old Antonio Bonheur and 21-year-old Saul Alisme, are accused of food stamp fraud. Leah Foley, U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, said the two men sometimes used small storefronts called Jesula Variety Store and Saul Mache Mixe Store to get their $500,000-a-month SNAP benefits.

“These weren’t supermarkets. They weren’t full-service grocery stores. It would be a huge exaggeration to even call them grocery stores,” Foley said at a news conference Wednesday. he said. “The only good thing about these stores was how easy it was to scam SNAP benefits.”

“This was not a sophisticated fraud scene, and it didn’t need to be, because all it took was a lack of oversight to allow this to happen,” Foley said.

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If convicted, the two men face up to five years in prison, as well as three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

Prosecutors say the majority of the fraud occurred at the Jesula store. Gov. Maura Healey said state officials notified federal officials about suspicious transactions at the store earlier this year.

“My administration reported this suspicious activity to the federal government a year ago for investigation and prosecution,” Healey said in a statement. he said. “As a former Attorney General and now Governor, I will always support the prosecution of anyone who abuses or engages in fraud against a federal program, or any program, to the fullest extent of the law.”

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A store where Haitian immigrants fraudulently received SNAP benefits, according to federal authorities. (DOJ)

News of the fraud comes after President Donald Trump’s administration threatened to cut off federal funding to Democratic-run states if they did not audit SNAP benefit payments. Federal authorities are cracking down on welfare fraud, thanks in large part to Somali immigrants who allegedly defrauded Minnesota taxpayers under Gov. Tim Walz of nearly $1 billion.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is facing intense scrutiny over fraud problems in Minnesota. (Alex Kormann/The Minnesota Star Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

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At a press conference last week, Walz announced he was establishing a new statewide prevention program that would work with a private firm that specializes in forensic auditing.

Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.