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Westfield man busted in alleged Red Bull SNAP scam at Chicopee smoke shop
The smoke shop employee is accused of steering customers to buy bulk items with SNAP and EBT benefits — and buying them back at a steep discount.
A Westfield man is facing multiple charges after authorities say he participated in a scheme involving fraudulent SNAP and EBT transactions at a Chicopee smoke shop.
Mohamed Yahiya, 47, an employee of Adham’s Smoke Shop, is accused of directing individuals to use their SNAP or EBT benefits to purchase large quantities of Red Bull from Sam’s Club, according to a statement from the Chicopee Police Department. Yahiya would then allegedly buy the items back from them for cash at a reduced price.
An undercover operation began after police said an investigator with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Special Investigations Unit for Retailer Operations and Compliance contacted the Chicopee Police Detective Bureau about a fraud investigation taking place in the city.
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Over several weeks, an undercover investigator purchased $1,731.34 worth of Red Bull and received $1,046 in cash, according to the police statement.
During one interaction, Yahiya offered a $50 referral fee to bring in additional participants, police said. Yahiya further stated that he planned to distribute the products between two stores his brother owned.
The investigator returned to the smoke shop March 18 and used an EBT card to purchase food and cigarettes. The cigarettes were sold at a discounted rate and were not properly stamped with Massachusetts tax markings, according to the statement.
Police said a search warrant was executed Friday for the smoke shop, where investigators recovered marked cases of Red Bull, a box of single rolled marijuana cigarettes found behind the counter, and cigarettes bearing tax stamps from South Carolina and Virginia.
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Yahiya was arrested and charged with three counts of food stamp trafficking over $250 and one count under $250, police said. He also faces three counts of accepting transitional assistance funds for tobacco, along with charges of possession of unstamped cigarettes, flavored tobacco sales, and possession with intent to distribute a Class D drug.
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