A former U.S. Department of Agriculture employee will spend nearly two years in prison for her insider role in a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program food assistance fraud scheme that bilked the government out of more than $66 million. The sentence is a fraction of the decades in felony charges she initially faced.
At the time, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York called it “one of the largest food stamp frauds in U.S. history.” New York resident Arlasa Davis, 56, was sentenced Monday to 24 months in prison after pleading guilty to multiple counts, the Department of Justice announced. She pleaded guilty earlier this year.
Download the SAN app today to stay up-to-date with Unbiased. Straight Facts™.
Point phone camera here
“Arlasa Davis exploited her role as a government employee to enrich herself while undermining a program designed to help New York families in need,” said Sean Buckley, deputy U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. “This conviction and sentence send a clear message that exploitation of funds intended for families will result in serious consequences.”
Fraud ring
As SAN reported in May, Davis was the insider in a group that used information she provided to steal Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) license numbers and conduct $36 million in fraudulent SNAP transactions.
Court documents stated Davis worked in the USDA’s division responsible for detecting and stopping SNAP fraud. Davis used her access to steal EBT license numbers. The group used these numbers to conduct the fraudulent SNAP transactions, according to court filings.
Davis would take photos of handwritten lists of valid license numbers and send them to her co-conspirators. They would then use the stolen credentials to obtain EBT terminals for unapproved businesses, including smoke shops and other retailers not authorized to accept SNAP benefits.
Unbiased. Straight Facts.TM
The U.S. Government Accountability Office estimates hundreds of millions of dollars are potentially stolen from SNAP recipients’ accounts each year.
In exchange for her role, Davis received bribes disguised as innocent gifts such as “birthday gifts” or “flowers,” the DOJ said.
Also charged in the scheme was Michael Kehoe, Mohamad Nawafleh, Omar Alrawashdeh, Gamal Obaid and Emad Alrawashdeh. Prosecutors said Kehoe, no apparent relation to Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe, was the ringleader of the group.
Reduced sentence
Davis’ 24-month prison sentence followed by two years of court supervision is significantly less prison time than what the initial charges carried.
Authorities announced in May that Davis faced:
- One count of conspiracy to steal government funds and misappropriate USDA benefits
- One count of theft of government funds
- One count of misappropriation of USDA benefits
- One count of conspiracy to commit bribery
- One count of bribery
- One count of conspiracy to commit honest services (wire fraud)
In total, those charges amounted to approximately 75 years behind bars.
Davis was also ordered Monday to forfeit $48,470 and pay restitution of $36 million.
