Trial Date Set for Louisiana Man Accused of $1.2 Million Food Stamp Fraud

The court has set an August 10 trial date for a Louisiana man accused of committing a $1.2 million food stamp fraud operation with two others.

Danny Assaf, 48, one of the three men alleged to have taken part in that operation, was in court Wednesday for a pretrial hearing when he found out his August 10 trial date, the Town Talk reported.

Assaf faces felony counts of racketeering, computer fraud, bank fraud, money laundering, and unauthorized use of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

The 48-year-old was the second man accused of selling food stamp benefits at the former Food Mart in Alexandria, Louisiana.

Another man arrested, Mustafa Abdel Abdelatif, had multiple charges against him, but they were all dropped except for unauthorized use of SNAP benefits.

The first man arrested was the store’s owner, Mohammad Abudayeh. Abudayeh was charged with two counts each of bank fraud, computer fraud, unauthorized use of SNAP benefits, and one count each of racketeering and money laundering.

He is due back in court for a pretrial hearing on June 24.

Investigators began their query into the convenience store, the Food Mart in Alexandria, in June 2018. State police arrested the three men after investigators noticed the $1.2 million worth of food stamps being trafficked between October 2017 and March 2019.

Investigators say that of those who sold their benefits, 104 people had their food stamp benefits revoked and were ordered to pay a collective $254,132.64 back to the federal government.

Store owners who have committed food stamp fraud have paid big time for their crimes.

Recently, a New Jersey man was sentenced to nearly three years in prison for conducting a $3.2 million food stamp fraud scheme.