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CHICAGO - The owner of a Chicago grocery store has been sentenced to three and a half years in federal prison for defrauding government nutrition programs of more than $8 million.
What we know:
Yousef Abu Alhawa, 50, admitted to illegally redeeming Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) benefits between 2011 and 2019, often for ineligible items or cash.
Prosecutors said he also redeemed benefits on behalf of stores that were not allowed to participate in the programs.
Alhawa pleaded guilty last year to wire fraud and tax charges, admitting he filed false tax returns that caused more than $610,000 in losses to federal and state agencies.
On Aug. 20, U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger ordered him to serve 42 months in prison and pay $8.9 million in restitution to the U.S. Treasury, IRS and the state of Illinois.
What they're saying:
Federal prosecutors said the scheme undermined confidence in the nation’s largest nutrition program.
"His actions not only deprived those programs of vital financial resources that could otherwise have been made available to deserving recipients, but also risked sowing general disfavor and distrust of government benefit systems," Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Mower wrote in a sentencing memo.
The case was investigated by the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General.
The Source: The information in this report came from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois.