The
Washington Examiner, police say that Bassam Abu Diab and his son, Matthew, were buying food stamp cards for 20-40 cents on the dollar, and then using the cards to buy items at Walmart and Save-A-Lot stores. The items were then sold in their own store.
According to
The Daytona Beach News Journal, in one case, back in February, an undercover officer went to the store at about 2 p.m. and told the older Abu Diab that she wanted $200 for her food stamp card. The merchant told the officer that she had to leave the card with him because Matthew was not present at the store. The undercover officer was told to come back to the store at 6 p.m.
Between the time the officer left the card at the store and returned, Matthew used the food stamp card to buy goods at a Walmart and Save-A-Lot store. The items were then sold at their store.
The undercover officer was paid $210 for the card Matthew used, which he ended up making $420.14 in purchases.
According to
Huffington Post, the investigation lasted for three months, and police say that the Diabs allegedly made at least $88,000 through EBT transactions.
Daytona Beach Police Chief Michael Chitwood said that the owner of the store was running a business on the back of taxpayers.
