Grocery Store Owner Ordered To Pay $4 Million After Food Stamp Fraud

ST. CLOUD, MN — A St. Cloud grocery market owner was sentenced to 30 months in prison and must pay $4.1 million in restitution after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and one county of wire fraud.

Hared N. Jibril, 60, committed food stamp fraud through his store, Hormud Market, authorities said.

From 2018 through 2021, Jibril used his market to defraud the federal government by exchanging SNAP and WIC food stamp benefits for cash and ineligible items including phone minutes, personal care products, and prepared food from Jibril’s adjoining restaurant.

The scheme resulted in a loss amount of more than $4.1 million to the SNAP and WIC programs, according to federal investigators.

Additionally, in 2020, Jibril applied for unemployment benefits even though he continued to be self-employed at Hormud Market. In total, Jabril received more than $32,724 in unemployment assistance, authorities said.