For his illegal manipulation of the Supplemental Nutrition Act Program totalling more than $4.6 million, the manager of a grocery shop in Birmingham entered a guilty plea on Wednesday in federal court to wire and tax fraud.
Before U.S. District Judge Karon O. Bowdre, OMAR MOTLEY, 42, of Birmingham entered a guilty plea to one count of tax fraud and one count of wire fraud.
With his guilty plea, Motley agreed to pay $847,001.00 in restitution to the IRS and $3,815,599.98 to the USDA, which oversees the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the name for the program that issues food stamps (SNAP). On November 8, 2022, Motley will be sentenced.
SNAP benefits used at Big B Food Mart were 52 times higher than at nearby retailers of comparable size during this period.
Motley stole nearly $3.7 million from the Big B Food Mart’s bank account as a result of his SNAP program manipulation.
Motley also admitted to underreporting his 2015 SNAP benefit redemption revenue to the IRS.
In Birmingham, Alabama, at 4012 24th Street North, Big B Food Mart, which was permitted by the USDA to take food stamp benefits, was managed by Motley. In March 2021, Motley was charged by a federal grand jury.
On an electronic benefit transfer card (EBT), which works like a debit card, the USDA provides SNAP benefits to qualified users. Motley admitted to illegally exchanging EBT SNAP benefits between November 2014 and March 2017 for cash and prohibited goods.
When compared to nearby retailers of comparable sizes, SNAP benefits used at Big B Food Mart were 52 times higher throughout this time.
Motley stole almost $3.7 million from the Big B Food Mart’s bank account as a result of his manipulation of the SNAP program.
In addition, Motley admitted guilt for under-reporting his 2015 revenue from SNAP benefit redemption to the IRS.
Motley considerably inflated the amount of Big B Food Mart’s cost of goods sold on this return, according to the evidence presented by the United States during the hearing; as a result, his personal income tax burden was much reduced.
The IRS has suffered an $847,001.00 tax loss. Three years in prison and a $250,000 fine are the maximum punishments for tax fraud. Wire fraud carries a maximum sentence of $250,000 in fines and 20 years in jail.
Read more:-
- The Federal Government Desires to Increase the Number of Internet Merchants Who Take Food Stamps.
- A Birmingham grocery shop manager was ordered to repay $4.6 million in food assistance and tax fraud.
- What to Do and What It Indicates if Your Food Stamps Application Is Pending
U.S. Attorney Escalona praised the efforts of our federal colleagues who fought to ensure that these public dollars were used for their intended objectives, saying that the funding provided by Congress for the SNAP program funds crucial USDA initiatives to assist families in need.
The announcement of the guilty plea was made by United States Attorney Prim F. Escalona, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Salina Walker of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General Investigations, and Lisa Fontanette, Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division.
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