A Hollywood convenience store owner is facing federal charges for allegedly taking part in a years-long scheme to defraud the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program of more than $500,000, the Department of Justice announced Friday.
Al Amin, 52, is accused of conspiring with others to buy Electronic Benefit Transfer cards from SNAP recipients for about half the value of the benefits on them, according to federal court records. Investigators said Amin and his alleged co-conspirators then used those cards to buy large amounts of merchandise from various retailers.
Authorities allege Amin stocked his own convenience store with some of the goods and sold others to nearby store owners. A DOJ photo dated Dec. 20, 2024, shows a man beside a large cart stacked with cases of Red Bull and Monster energy drinks.
Amin faces two federal conspiracy counts: unauthorized use, transfer, acquisition or possession of SNAP benefits, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison on the SNAP charge and up to 20 years on the wire fraud charge.
In a separate case, a 51-year-old South Florida man was arrested Thursday on four felony counts over an alleged identity theft scheme that prosecutors said ran from 2021 to 2023. Anwar Jouda is accused of using the identity of a Miami-based Kwik Stop food store to take more than $862,000 in SNAP funds. Court documents say the money went into Jouda’s personal bank accounts, and some was later sent to a person in the West Bank. He was arrested in St. Lucie County and his bond was set at $80,000.
