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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Feds execute search warrant at Shorthorn Meats on Flint's north side
Molly Young | myoung7@mlive.com By Molly Young | myoung7@mlive.com
on September 29, 2014 at 5:15 PM
FLINT, MI -- Armed FBI agents in bulletproof vests stood guard outside Shorthorn Meats as federal agents executed a search warrant at the north-side market.
The market, 2002 W. Pierson Road, was closed Monday afternoon, Sept. 29, as the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Internal Revenue Service executed the warrant, according to IRS spokeswoman Special Agent JoAnne McLean.
McLean declined to comment on the specifics of the warrant.
The front door of the store remained locked Monday afternoon despite an illuminated "open" sign in the business' front window.
Agents at the scene would not detail the focus of the investigation because it was ongoing, and referred all questions to the U.S. Attorney's Office. U.S. Attorney spokeswoman Gina Balaya was not immediately available for comment.
Store owner Hani S. Halloun said he was out of town when he learned about the incident.
Halloun said he is unsure what federal agents were targeting with the warrant and he has hired an attorney to help track down a reason behind the warrant.
Michigan State Police troopers were also on scene, helping to block off the parking lot and redirecting customers.
The store should reopen Tuesday, Sept. 30, according to agents at the scene.
Officials with the USDA could not be reached for comment.
Staff writer Gary Ridley contributed to this report. |
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Mon Sep 29, 2014 5:54 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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The very first reports of the raid was on Genesee County Scanners (GCS) about noon today. They sent the info to Channel 12.
Eyewitnesses told GCS that it was an IRS raid with 2 agents and an IRS Criminal Investigation Division wearing bulletproof vests and holding assault weapons guarding the doors.
Commenters also told GCS that the Michigan State Police (SWAT?) was also present and boxes were being removed.
One individual asserted a search warrant for Gator's car wash was also executed this morning. |
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Mon Sep 29, 2014 6:03 pm |
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twotap
F L I N T O I D
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| Sounds like the owner might be a conservative and Obama and holder found out. |
_________________
"If you like your current healthcare you can keep it, Period"!!
Barack Hussein Obama--- multiple times. |
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Mon Sep 29, 2014 7:51 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Could this be what happened?
9 charged in federal sweep of food stamp fraud in Eastern Market, elsewhere
1:25 AM, September 19, 2013
By Ann Zaniewski
Detroit Free Press Staff Writer
An investigation of food stamp fraud in Detroit led to charges against nine people, U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade announced Wednesday.
Authorities allege that retailers in the Eastern Market terminal and elsewhere in the city have been illegally exchanging cash for food stamp benefits. The fraudulent transactions totaled millions of dollars over the last year, McQuade’s office said.
“Taxpayers in Michigan fund the food stamp program to provide food for the needy, not to create a commodity to be traded for profit,” McQuade said in a news release. “We will work to ensure that food assistance programs are not abused.”
The announcement came at the end of what authorities called a “two-day federal search and arrest warrant operation.” State and federal authorities were spotted Tuesday in and around stores in Eastern Market. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Internal Revenue Service, Office of Inspector General, Michigan State Police and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were involved in the operation.
According to McQuade’s office, the following people and retailers were subjects of the warrants:
■ Ronnie’s Quality Meats, 1429 Gratiot Ave.
■ Embassy Foods, 2478 Riopelle St.
■ Ftoni Meat & Produce, 2800 Riopelle St.
■ Detroit Wholesale Produce, 2614 Riopelle St.
■ Dayton Market, 8002 Dayton St. Manager Waleed Hindo of Inkster was arrested on a criminal complaint charging him with fraud against the USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
■ Cheech’s Chicken Co., 1429 Gratiot Ave. Managers Frank Paul Buonbrisco of Saint Clair Shores, Eric Lamont Owensby of Romulus and Damon Keith Ownensby, of Detroit were arrested on criminal complaints charging them with SNAP fraud.
■ Gratiot Produce & Grocery Inc., 1429 Gratiot Ave. Owner Rassoul Ali Jamil of Dearborn has been named in a criminal complaint charging him with SNAP fraud.
■ Greg’s Pallet Company, 1483 Winder St. Owner Greg King of Detroit was arrested on a criminal complaint charging him with SNAP fraud and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
■ Campus Diner, 5470 Cass Ave. Owner Anton Vuljaj of Waterford was arrested on a criminal complaint charging him with SNAP fraud.
■ Mike’s K&G Deli, 15500 East Warren Avenue. Former manager Ghassan Ghazi Shamoon of Livonia was arrested on a criminal complaint charging him with SNAP Fraud.
■ Christopher Stanley Jackson of Detroit, an employee of the Eastern Market terminal, has been named in a criminal complaint charging him with SNAP fraud.
Contact Ann Zaniewski: azaniewski@freepress.com |
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Tue Sep 30, 2014 6:14 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Food stamp fraud raids, the public trust, and hockey ...
Food stamp fraud raids, the public trust, and hockey
www.metrotimes.com/Blogs/archives/2014/09/24/food-stamp-fraud...
Sep 24, 2014 · ... as state and federal authorities raided six Hamtramck markets, all owned by Bengalis, on charges of food stamp fraud. ... Sep 26, 2014… |
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Tue Sep 30, 2014 6:31 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Food stamp fraud raids, the public trust, and hockey
Posted By Michael Jackman on Wed, Sep 24, 2014 at 10:40 AM
Law enforcement had a big day in Hamtramck yesterday, as state and federal authorities raided six Hamtramck markets, all owned by Bengalis, on charges of food stamp fraud. At least one police helicopter hovered above the city while six markets were raided in a sting that resulted in almost a dozen arrests in Hamtramck alone. Similar raids took place in Detroit and Warren. The press release estimated that the combined illegal haul of public money during the investigation ran into the millions, about $12.5 million in all.
The raids were quickly followed up by declarations from senior state officials that the law must be followed. Among them was a statement from Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, who declared, "Michigan families are working harder than ever for every tax dollar ... Enriching yourself at public expense is not only shameful, but compromises the integrity of government and violates the public trust. I would like to thank our state and federal partners for their cooperative efforts to secure justice and fight fraud wherever it is found."
Brave, bold words from our crusading AG. There's no way Schuette is going to let people take millions of dollars of hard-earned tax dollars to enrich themselves at public expense! It so happened that a friend of ours read those words and erupted in laughter, pointing to the huge celebration scheduled for Thursday, the groundbreaking for the new hockey stadium downtown, in which millions of dollars of hard-earned taxpayer money is going to enrich the Ilitch family. "Wherever it is found"?
Needless to say, we got the joke right away.
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Tue Sep 30, 2014 6:33 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Quote:
Brave, bold words from our crusading AG. There's no way Schuette is going to let people take millions of dollars of hard-earned tax dollars to enrich themselves at public expense! It so happened that a friend of ours read those words and erupted in laughter, pointing to the huge celebration scheduled for Thursday, the groundbreaking for the new hockey stadium downtown, in which millions of dollars of hard-earned taxpayer money is going to enrich the Ilitch family. "Wherever it is found"?
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I caught the joke too! Despite owing Detroit a boatload-of-money, Illitch got state help building the arena.
Last edited by untanglingwebs on Tue Sep 30, 2014 6:42 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Tue Sep 30, 2014 6:34 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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It appears there has been a number of recent raids in the state, primarily in urban areas.
In the 90's there was a huge raid on the former King Party Store on M L King and Dayton. Even guns were being bought and sold along with food stamp fraud. The ring ran from Flint to Imlay City and Detroit. Most of the owners then were Chaldeans. They were sending money back to their homeland and Homeland Security here was involved.
One commenter on Genesee County Scanners stated a Homeland Security vehicle was present. |
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Tue Sep 30, 2014 6:42 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Flint, Saginaw grocery stores part of investigation into more than $5 million in food stamp fraud
Molly Young | myoung7@mlive.com
Gary Ridley | gridley@mlive.com By Gary Ridley | gridley@mlive.com
Follow on Twitter
on September 30, 2014 at 11:00 AM, updated September 30, 2014
FLINT, MI -- Federal authorities claim more than $5 million in food stamp benefits were illegally traded for cash by workers at two meat markets in Flint and Saginaw, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Monday, Sept. 29, in Flint U.S. District Court.
The complaint alleges that four people, including two workers at Shorthorn Meats in Flint and Saginaw, were part of the alleged scheme.
All four suspects have been arrested and released on $25,000 bond.
Agents from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Internal Revenue Service executed a search warrant Monday at the Flint store, 2002 W. Pierson Road, on Flint's north side, according to IRS spokeswoman Special Agent JoAnne McLean.
McLean declined to comment on the case outside of what was included in an affidavit filed with the criminal complaint.
Hani S. Halloun, who owns the Shorthorn markets in Flint and Saginaw, said he was out of town when he learned that authorities were executing the warrant Monday at the Flint location.
Halloun, who is not named as a suspect in the complaint, said he is unsure what federal agents were targeting with the warrant and he has hired an attorney to help track down a reason behind the warrant. He declined to comment further on the situation.
The affidavit, filed by a special agent from the USDA, claims that the investigation began in December 2011 and involved undercover police officers and confidential informants allegedly trading federal food assistance benefits for cash.
An undercover officer claimed he went into the Flint store multiple times and received cash for purchases made with his Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit claims the officer made orders for hundreds of dollars at the store that would then be picked up by a man authorities alleged was involved in the scheme.
The undercover officer would charge the order to SNAP benefits and receive a receipt. He would then allegedly travel to another business where the other person involved with the scheme would trade the transaction receipt for cash.
The undercover officer would typically receive cash in the amount of roughly half the original transaction value, according to the affidavit.
Authorities allege Shorthorn employees at both its Flint and Saginaw locations also purchased federal food benefits from confidential informants for cash, according to the affidavit.
Typically, the confidential informants would also receive cash in the amount of roughly half the value of the benefits they sold, according to the affidavit
The USDA alleges that Shorthorn redeemed an average of more than $54,000 per month in food benefits since 2005. The affidavit claims similar-sized grocery stores within a five-mile radius of Shorthorn redeemed less than $10,000 monthly on average over that same time frame.
Officials with the USDA could not be reached for comment. |
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Tue Sep 30, 2014 11:02 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Feds raid second Flint business, allege more than $1 million in food stamp fraud
Downtown food shop.JPG
The Downtown Food Shop inside the Mass Transportation Authority station in Downtown Flint is open Wednesday, Oct. 1, after federal agents executed a search warrant at the store. The store owner and an employee are accused of more than $1 million in food stamp fraud. (Gary Ridley | MLive.com)
Gary Ridley | gridley@mlive.com By Gary Ridley | gridley@mlive.com
Follow on Twitter
on October 01, 2014 at 1:30 PM, updated October 01, 2014 at 1:32 PM
FLINT, MI -- Federal authorities have raided a second Flint business after they claim more than $1 million dollars in food stamp benefits was allegedly traded for cash a convenience store located in the downtown Mass Transportation Authority station, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday, Sept. 30, in Flint U.S. District Court.
The complaint alleges that two people were involved in the alleged scheme.
The two suspects have not been arraigned on any charges. Court records show one was arrested and released Tuesday on $25,000 bond.
Joan Morgan, an attorney representing one of the suspects, declined to comment on the case.
An affidavit filed with the complaint by inspectors from the U.S. Department of Agriculture claim that the alleged fraud exceeded $1.1 million since August 2009.
MTA General Manager Ed Benning said he did not have any comment on the criminal allegations. Benning said that the MTA leased space in the downtown station to the store and the shop had been a good tenant.
Federal authorities executed a search warrant at the store Tuesday, Sept. 30.
Officials with the USDA declined to comment on the ongoing investigation.
Benning said his office was not given any notification of the impending raid by federal agents. He said he became aware of the situation after MTA employees called to tell him that agents closed the store.
The store was open Wednesday, Oct. 1.
The store is registered to Madiha's Enterprises Inc., according to court records. A phone number listed for the company was disconnected. A man at the store who identified himself as the manager declined to comment on the allegations.
Authorities claim they became aware of the suspected fraud after a review of SNAP transactions revealed a transaction history far excess of that of comparable stores.
The affidavit claims the store averaged more than $21,000 per month in SNAP transactions over the past five years. Comparable stores in the same geographic area averaged just $2,500 in transactions.
The allegations come on the heels of another investigation by USDA officials.
Federal authorities claim more than $5 million in food stamp benefits were illegally traded for cash by workers at two meat markets in Flint and Saginaw, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Monday, Sept. 29.
The complaint alleges that four people, including two workers at Shorthorn Meats in Flint and Saginaw, were part of the alleged scheme.
The affidavit, filed by a special agent from the USDA, claims that the investigation began in December 2011 and involved undercover police officers and confidential informants allegedly trading federal food assistance benefits for cash. |
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Wed Oct 01, 2014 7:24 pm |
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