Restaurant Owner Used 3,000 LINK Cards to Buy Almost $1 Million in Energy Drinks and Candy: Prosecutors

A fish-and-chicken eatery owner scammed the federal government out of about $1 million, using LINK cards to buy “massive amounts of energy drinks and candy” which he’d sell to stores in Chicago, according to Cook County prosecutors, who’ve charged him several felonies.

Wael S. Ghosheh, 46, of Burbank, would buy his drinks and candy at a warehouse club, using 3,000 LINK cards and several store memberships, which caught the attention of store security, prosecutors said in a court filing. Law enforcement was alerted, and investigators traced his shopping activity back to February 2013.

Ghosheh, 5500 block of West 84th Street, is jailed on $50,000 bail. He faces charges of theft of government property, identity theft, money laundering, unauthorized use of welfare benefits and wire fraud.