NEW YORK CITY— Eight people allegedly stole more than $7 million from New Yorkers enrolled in the federal food assistance program Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, using cloned benefit cards and fake grocery stores to drain recipients' accounts before they could buy food, prosecutors said.
The scheme ran from April 2023 through September 2025 and affected thousands of people, many of whom never received reimbursement for their stolen benefits, according to an indictment announced by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
The defendants face charges of fourth-degree conspiracy, grand larceny and identity theft in New York State Supreme Court.
The defendants created merchant accounts and obtained point-of-sale machines under the names of existing and fictitious delis, bodegas and grocery stores, the district attorney's office reported.
Those accounts allowed them to process transactions using Electronic Benefit Transfer cards, which recipients use to access SNAP food benefits.
The conspirators allegedly stole EBT card numbers and personal identification numbers, primarily through card-skimming devices, then used the information to create cloned cards.
They monitored when the state deposited monthly benefits into recipients' accounts and quickly used the cloned cards to withdraw the money. In many cases, they repeatedly swiped the cards until they emptied the accounts.
Some legitimate recipients tried to purchase groceries on the same day their benefits arrived, only to discover the money had disappeared, prosecutors said.
Belal Hauter, 34, allegedly led the operation by opening or directing others to open merchant accounts under the names of various delis and grocery stores, including a deli where several defendants worked.
Gregory Fabiani, 46, and Abdulla Aezah, 35, allegedly helped establish the accounts and provided technical support for the payment systems.
Milton Rios, 53, and Yvette Rivera, 58, allegedly opened additional merchant accounts and bank accounts used in the operation.
Other defendants allegedly operated the point-of-sale machines and carried out thousands of fraudulent transactions.
Court-authorized searches uncovered what prosecutors described as a fraud operation operating out of a Yonkers deli's back room and hotel rooms.
Photographs seized during the investigation showed multiple payment terminals, stacks of transaction receipts and dozens of cloned EBT cards.
The defendants allegedly used some of the stolen money to purchase luxury vehicles and transferred tens of thousands of dollars to Yemen and other international destinations.
New York State plans to begin rolling out chip-enabled EBT cards in the first quarter of 2027, replacing cards that rely on technology more vulnerable to skimming and cloning.
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