Feds Indict Nottingham Men in $3.55M Food Stamp Scheme

NOTTINGHAM, MD — Two men who live in Nottingham were indicted on federal fraud charges for allegedly operating multiple convenience stores that illegitimately capitalized from those on food stamps.

Mohammad Irfan, 59, and Muhammad Sarmad, 40, of Nottingham, obtained more than $3,550,600 in payments from the government for food sales that never occurred at these stores, federal officials said:

• New Sherwood Market, 6324 Sherwood Road in Northwood
• Martin Mart, 1504 Martin Boulevard in Middle River
• Rosedale Mart, 6326 Kenwood Avenue in Rosedale
• M&A Mart, 7400-A Belair Road in Baltimore

From October 2010 through August 2016, officials said that Irfan and Sarmad accepted debit cards from people enrolled in SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) — formerly known as the "food stamp" program. SNAP provides eligible low-income individuals with debit cards that allow them to purchase approved food items from participating stores. The U.S. Department of Agriculture administers the program in conjunction with state agencies.

The cards contain funds that are supposed to go toward food items, and instead the store operators provided the SNAP participants with cash in exchange for a fee; usually Irfan and Sarmad would collect the same amount of cash that was being doled out to the recipient, officials said.

“The food stamp program is intended to put food on the tables of needy recipients, not to put money in the pockets of greedy criminals," U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said in a statement.

Authorities said that in the fraud scheme, a network of Baltimore area store owners — 14 individuals were identified and federally indicted — would sometimes call a different store and have the debit card transaction processed manually there to stay under the radar.

The group obtained more than $16,482,270 for food sale transactions that did not happen or which were inflated by a large margin, officials said.

“Far from being a victimless crime, the offenders in this investigation defrauded a combined amount of approximately $16 million from taxpayer funded programs,” Special Agent in Charge Kevin Perkins, who leads the Baltimore FBI Office, said in a statement.

Said Perkins: "The FBI Baltimore Division, along with our federal, state and local partners, remain steadfast in our commitment to root out those who steal from taxpayers and defraud our government programs.”

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