"Michael Kehoe and his co-conspirators misappropriated tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds meant to help low-income families put food on the table"

Michael Kehoe and his co-conspirators misappropriated tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds meant to help low-income families put food on the table,” said U.S. Attorney Perry Carbone.  “This fraud was made possible when USDA employee Arlasa Davis betrayed the public trust by selling confidential government information to the very criminals she was supposed to catch.  Their actions undermined a program that vulnerable New Yorkers depend on for basic nutrition.  These charges should be a reminder that those who exploit anti-poverty programs for personal gain will be held accountable for their crimes.”

A press release was issued yesterday by the U.S. Attorney's Office from the Southern District of New York. We all know that NY isn't the only state that needs fraud exposed. I just covered a local SNAP fraud case. 

Perry Carbone, Attorney for the United States, Acting under Authority Conferred by 28 U.S.C. § 515; Charmeka Parker, the Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General (“USDA-OIG”); and Christopher G. Raia, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced the unsealing of a Superseding Indictment charging six individuals in connection with a sprawling fraud and bribery scheme that generated over $66 million in unauthorized transactions under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (“SNAP”)—colloquially known as food stamps.  This is one of the largest food stamp frauds in U.S. history. The defendants—MICHAEL KEHOE, MOHAMAD NAWAFLEH, OMAR ALRAWASHDEH, GAMAL OBAID, EMAD ALRAWASHDEH, and ARLASA DAVIS—are charged with conspiracy to steal government funds and to misappropriate U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) benefits, among other charges.  DAVIS, a USDA employee, is additionally charged with bribery and honest services fraud.  The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff.

NAWAFLEH, 34, of the Bronx, New York; OMAR ALRAWASHDEH, 37, of the Bronx, New York; OBAID, 39, of the Bronx, New York; EMAD ALRAWASHDEH, 37, of the Bronx, New York; and DAVIS, 56, of Gardiner, New York, are each charged with one count of conspiracy to steal government funds and misappropriate USDA benefits, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, one count of theft of government funds, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, and one count of misappropriation of USDA benefits, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.  DAVIS is additionally charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, one count of bribery, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, and one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.  NAWAFLEH is additionally charged with one count of failure to appear, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

The maximum sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.

Mr. Carbone praised the outstanding work of the USDA and FBI, which is also assisting in the investigation.

This case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Georgia V. Kostopoulos and Joe Zabel are in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Superseding Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.