James Peabody, 34, who in August admitted to being part of an illegal scam involving SNAP benefits in the North Texas area has been sentenced to 20 years in...
Fraudsters used stolen account numbers of more than 3,000 people who receive SNAP benefits, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Texas.A man who admitted to raking millions of dollars into North Texas grocery stores by defrauding thousands of people through a scam involving food stamps has been sentenced to 20 years in prison, federal prosecutors say.
They defrauded the federal government of millions of dollars “using the stolen account number of over 3,000 SNAP beneficiaries located throughout the United States,” court documents stated.Investigators believe the personal data was obtained from illegal “skimming” machines at point of sales terminals throughout the country. The stolen data was then “programmed” into cards with magnetic strips, according to court documents.
Afro Mart operated out of a property in the 8000 block of Glenview Drive in North Richland Hills, court documents showed. A Google search of “Leelah African Store” and “Saybah’s African Market” showed associated addresses in Blue Mound and Bedford, respectively. All three cities are located in Tarrant County.Although no groceries were sold at any of the locations, Peabody and his conspirators would then receive “lump sum payments” from the United States Department of Agriculture.
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