Long Island Stores Charged in Food Stamp Scam

A joint investigation by local, state, and federal law enforcement has resulted in charges against seven men and five businesses for scamming the federal food stamp program, Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said Thursday.

The probe revealed that clerks and businesses accepted food stamps for alcohol and cigarettes and illegally received cash kickbacks from bogus food stamp transactions, the D.A. said.

The D.A. released video showing an undercover detective posing as a food stamp recipient going into the Penn Convenience Deli in Hempstread. The detective gives the clerk a food stamp card. The clerk, Chand Subhash, allegedly swipes the card, electronically depositing $250 of federal food stamp money into the store's bank account. Then Subhash is seen handing the undercover agent $150 in cash.

Authorities said the video of this transaction alone is evidence that the store stole $100 from the federal government -- money intended to feed hungry families.

"Food stamp benefits are meant for members of our society who need assistance putting food on their family's table, not for store owners to make a quick buck or benefit recipients to buy alcohol and cigarettes," Rice said. "My office will continue to pursue criminals who line their pockets at the expense of Nassau County taxpayers."

Operation Hungry Lion, the investigation's code name, was conducted for two years with local, state and federal law enforcement.

DEFENDENTS:

• Jose Toribio, 30, of Queens, owner of J & J Deli-Grocery in Long Beach
• Prithipal Bhatti, 47, of Syosset, manager and former owner of Penn Convenience Deli in Hempstead
• Chand Subhash, 60, of Hempstead, clerk at Penn Convenience Deli in Hempstead
• Epifanio Vargas, 36, of Freeport, past owner of Epy's Deli in Hempstead
• Santiago Ramirez, 52, of Port Jefferson, owner of Ramirez Grocery in Hempstead
• Juan Martinez, 47, of Oceanside, clerk at Ramirez Grocery
• Felix Batista, 39, of Hempstead, vice president and owner of La Frontera in Freeport