A federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida has indicted four men accused of operating a fraud scheme for nearly seven years that diverted over 19 million dollars from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), popularly known as Food Stamps, reported the U.S. Department of Justice.
The individuals charged are Rajaie Ahmad Ali, 63 years old and a resident of Miramar, who is also subject to a final deportation order; Sami Jamhour, 43 years old, a resident of Hollywood; Cristian Giovanni Amaro, 27 years old, a resident of Miami; and Adel Amro, 23 years old, a resident of Fort Myers.
According to the indictment, the alleged scheme operated between July 2019 and May 2026 through various authorized businesses to accept payments from the SNAP program in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
How the fraud operated
The court documents indicate that Ali owned Brown Sugar, Jamhour owned Kwik Stop, and Amaro owned Quickie Mini Market.
The investigation asserts that Ali and Amaro illegally transferred the electronic terminals assigned to their businesses for use in the establishment of Jamhour, a practice that is expressly prohibited by federal program regulations.
Meanwhile, Amro was allegedly responsible for recruiting beneficiaries willing to exchange their food assistance for cash.
According to the accusation, the scheme involved processing inflated charges on the EBT cards of beneficiaries. Subsequently, they received approximately half of the amount in cash, while the merchants kept the rest of the money as illicit profit.
Federal prosecutor Jason A. Reding Quiñones stated that the fraud affected both taxpayers and families who rely on the program.
"Food stamps exist to help families put food on the table, not to enrich criminals. Fraud against public benefits harms twofold: first, the taxpayers who fund these programs, and again, the families who depend on them," he declared.
For his part, FBI Special Agent in Miami, Brett Skiles, stated that the investigation demonstrates the authorities' commitment to protecting public resources.
"For nearly seven years, these scammers allegedly exploited SNAP to obtain illicit profits, stealing millions of dollars from Americans without any remorse for the damage caused to communities in South Florida," she stated.
Up to 65 years in prison
The four defendants face multiple federal charges, including conspiracy to traffic benefits from the SNAP program, money laundering, and structuring financial transactions, although the combination of offenses varies depending on the role assigned to each individual.
If they are found guilty, the maximum penalties stipulated by law are:
Rajaie Ahmad Ali: up to 65 years in prison.
Cristian Giovanni Amaro: up to 55 years.
Sami Jamhour: up to 50 years.
Adel Amro: up to 30 years.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI in Miami and the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Agriculture (USDA-OIG), with support from the Miami Police Department and the West Palm Beach Sheriff's Office.
A large-scale fraud
Authorities believe that this case is among the largest fraud schemes related to the SNAP program recently detected in South Florida, a region where such crimes have been recurrent.
In April of this year, a woman was arrested in Broward County accused of stealing over $120,000 in SNAP benefits belonging to nearly 200 individuals. A month later, the Orlando Police dismantled a network dedicated to using cloned EBT cards to withdraw funds from the program.
The USDA-OIG inspector general, John Walk, summarized the magnitude of the case with a powerful statement: "This scheme, which lasted for years, resulted in the theft of over 19 million dollars from taxpayers. It is outrageous!"
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