The former operators of a Stop and Shop convenience store in Helena-West Helena pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring to defraud the government, admitting they stole $107,486.36 by allowing federal aid recipients to trade benefits for cash, in exchange for part of the cash.
U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker accepted guilty pleas in her Little Rock courtroom from Khalid S.A. Alkarsh, also known as Omar, and Bakil Mohamed Alqirsh, also known as Jay. When sentenced at a later date, both face up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
According to their plea agreements, Alkarsh owned and worked in the store, and Alqirsh worked as a cashier and manager, when they concocted a plan to defraud the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as the food stamp program.
From January 2013 to December 2014, they admitted, they allowed aid recipients to redeem their benefits for cash by swiping their electronic benefit transfer cards in the store for a certain transaction amount. Alkarsh and Alqirsh would pay the recipients about 60 percent of the transaction amount and keep the remaining 40 percent. Only a small amount of food, if any, was purchased during the transactions, they acknowledged.
The men were the top two defendants in a Nov. 4, 2015, indictment that named 24 defendants, many of whom have pleaded guilty in return for reduced charges. Several remain scheduled for a jury trial beginning Feb. 13.
"Compared to stores of a similar size, the Stop and Shop engaged in an abnormally high number of SNAP transactions exceeding $50," their plea agreements note. The documents list several of the transactions, such as a recipient's request for $140.58 in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, for which the recipient was given about $85 in cash.
On occasion, the plea agreements state, Alkarsh or Alqirsh would purchase an aid recipient's card to use it to purchase stock for the store.
As an example, according to one of the plea agreements, Alqirsh purchased a benefits card in the amount of $618.46 from a confidential source in exchange for about $380 cash. The card was then used to purchase stock for the Stop and Shop from a store in Memphis.
Metro on 01/25/2017