Two Florida convenience store owners have allegedly been caught running a massive food stamp scam, using taxpayer money to stock their stores, according to The Huffington Post.
The two alleged con-men are Bassam Sale Abu Diab, 55, and his son Matthew Bassam Abu Diab, 22.
The son and father duo were caught re-using Electronic Benefit Transfer cards (EBT) they had bought from customers. In turn, they used those cards to buy food for their store, 4M Food Mart. The store is located in Daytona.
They targeted customers who were desperate for cash and bought the EBT cards for 20 to 40 cents on the dollar, according to Huff Post. For example, they would buy a $500 EBT card for merely $200. They then used the cards at Walmarts and Save-A-Lot stores throughout the area to supply their convenience store.
After a three-month investigation, the two men were arrested by federal agents on Monday, after their business was raided. The duo allegedly made $88,000 through the EBT transactions at their store.
The father, Bassam Sale, was previously charged with illegally running a pawn shop back in December, The Huff Post reported.
"This guy is running a business on the taxpayers' back," Daytona Beach Police Chief Michael Chitwood told WFTV Channel 9. "It's a fraud. He's unscrupulous and clearly he didn't learn from the last time we hit the store."
However, this Daytona-based store isn't the only one running a scam. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, who oversees the EBT card program, nearly 1,400 stores were accused of illegally exchanging cards for cash last year.
The government is now working more closely to eliminate any people scamming the system.
