Two Boston men were arrested on Wednesday and charged with a federal complaint that accuses them of trafficking nearly $7 million in SNAP benefits through two local storefronts, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts. Prosecutors said the stores’ monthly SNAP redemptions were wildly out of line with the shops’ size and inventory, with amounts between $1000,000 — $500,000, which prompted an investigation.

U.S. authorities identified the defendants as 74-year-old Antonio Bonheur, owner of Jesula Variety Store, and 21-year-old Saul Alisme, owner of Saul Mache Mixe Store. The charging documents allege the tiny shops routinely processed SNAP transactions typical of full-service supermarkets, with more than 70% of purchases exceeding $95 and only about 10% under $40. This anomaly is what investigators used to flag the trafficking.

Federal agents said undercover transactions documented SNAP benefits being exchanged for cash at the registers on multiple occasions, and that both stores sold liquor in exchange for benefits. Investigators also alleged the owners sold MannaPack meals (donated humanitarian food intended for distribution overseas) at roughly $8 a package, profiting off charity meant for food-insecure children. Prosecutors said illicit SNAP proceeds were laundered through secondary bank accounts to hide the scheme.

The defendants face one count of food stamp fraud; if convicted of trafficking more than $100, they each could face up to five years in prison, supervised release, and fines. The case is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Organized Crime & Gang Unit with assistance from the USDA Office of Inspector General, the FBI, and Boston police. 

Trafficking cases like this are one focus of a wider federal effort to protect SNAP integrity. USDA research and enforcement actions over recent years have targeted retailers and fraud rings that convert benefits into cash or unauthorized goods. 

"This is taxpayer money meant to keep people from going hungry. These defendants decided to take it for themselves," U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said.