When Three Brothers Supermarket didn’t get approved to redeem Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, owner Jenny Tejada didn’t let that stop her from being a SNAP retailer. She got creative, by becoming a fraudster in a scheme that stole almost $2 million in SNAP benefits to support her store.
Tejada gained access to the program by stealing merchant identification (MID) numbers that had been assigned to local stores that participated in the program legitimately. By using the stolen MID numbers, Tejada was able to work around the rules of SNAP and accept the benefits to purchase groceries in her store. But she didn’t stop there! Tejada further abused the program by trading benefits for cash. A side hustle that stocked her store shelves with groceries she bought at other stores with the fraudulently gained SNAP benefits.
Numbers didn’t add up for the Department of Agriculture and upon an investigation, found Tejada guilty of food stamp trafficking. The illegal buying, selling or exchanging of SNAP benefits. Trafficking in SNAP Benefits is the worse offense an EBT retailer can be accused of. It’s also the most common SNAP violation that the USDA charges. Approximately 12.7% of authorized SNAP stores engage in trafficking. And Tejada wasn’t even authorized! She trafficked with MID numbers she stole from other stores.
Tejada is trading in her grocery store for a prison cell. On February 5, 2025, Tejada was sentenced to 18 months in prison for SNAP fraud. She was also ordered to pay $1,841,402 in restitution and forfeit the proceeds of her offenses.
Great job by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General in this case.
Today’s Fraud of The Day is based on article “Pennsylvania woman sentenced for nearly $2 million in SNAP fraud” published by ABC News on February 5, 2025.
A Philadelphia store owner has been sentenced to more than a year in prison after defrauding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) of nearly $2 million.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Philadelphia says Jenny Tejada was charged after using her corner grocery store to redeem SNAP benefits, even though she knew the store had not been approved to participate as a merchant. Investigators say Tejada gained access to the program by misappropriating merchant identification numbers that had been assigned to other stores. In addition to an 18-month prison sentence, Tejada will have to pay $1,841,402 in restitution and forfeit the proceeds of her offenses.
