A woman and her son have been indicted on allegations of welfare fraud. According to court records, the two stole $3 million from the EBT program. The fraud was committed at Family Super Saver store from 2009 to 2014. The culprits are Elham M. Abdul Rahim and Ahmad Zaki Abdul Rahim.
According to the Journal Sentinel: They were both indicted on a count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Elham Rahim also was indicted on counts of fraud and unauthorized use of food stamps, while Ahmad Rahim was also indicted on a count of lying to investigators from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The conspiracy count carries up to 20 years in prison, but the defendants are likely to get much less time in prison under federal sentencing guidelines if they are convicted.
Ahmad Rahim said Wednesday he didn’t know that he and his mother had been indicted and he denied being involved in any fraud. He said his father, who has since died, used to run the store and he could not account for how he ran the operation.
According to the indictment:
The Rahims used the store to exchange Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program cards for cash. Through the program, recipients get a debit card. The defendants would swipe the card for a certain amount, say $400, and give half the amount to the recipients in cash and keep the rest. The store would charge the government for the entire $400.
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