Minnesota authorities have charged a Minneapolis grocer in a $1.1 million SNAP Electronic Benefits Transfer fraud case, alleging he used other people’s EBT cards to buy bulk goods at national retailers and then resold them in his store; the case has sparked sharp political criticism and raised questions about program oversight and immigration-related fraud concerns.
Local prosecutors say Abdidwahid Mohamed, owner of Minnesota Food Grocery LLC, used EBT cards registered to others to purchase goods at wholesale stores in 2021 and then brought those same items back to his shop for resale. Investigators reportedly tracked purchases, followed him to his store, and matched surveillance and GPS data to the transactions, while many cardholders said they never shopped at those retailers or were out of the country during the purchases. The indictment alleges the scheme siphoned more than $1 million from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, a serious hit to taxpayers who fund those benefits.
Authorities in Minnesota have filed criminal charges against a man accused of a food stamp fraud scheme that defrauded taxpayers out of over $1 million.
Abdidwahid Mohamed, the owner of Minnesota Food Grocery LLC, allegedly used EBT cards registered to others to purchase items at Sam’s Club and Costco in 2021 before turning around and reselling them in his store, Fox 9 Minneapolis reported.
Authorities in Hennepin County say they observed Mohamed making purchases and followed him back to his store with the goods. Surveillance footage and GPS data backed this up, while investigators noted that many of the EBT cardholders were either out of the country or say they never shopped at the stores he used.
“Out of the country?” One wonders if some of them have ever been in the country. That line captures why this case has become a political lightning rod, because it feeds into broader concerns about program eligibility, fraud, and gaps in administration. Republicans point to patterns like this to argue for stricter verification and enforcement across federal benefit programs.
“Minneapolis didn’t become America’s fraud capital by accident,” Dalia al-Aqidi, a Republican running for Congress in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District against Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., told Fox News Digital. “It was earned. This week, it’s a grocer charged with running up $1.1 million in charges on other people’s EBT cards. Next week, it will be something else, but the bill always lands on the Minnesotans who actually pay taxes.”
Aqidi says that families tell her “affordability” is what “keeps them up night” and the “cruel joke is that the money is here to really make a difference for people.”
“It is just lining the wrong pockets and paying for luxury cars and houses on the other side of the world. The fraudsters are only half the story. The other half are the people administering these programs, from the front lines all the way up to Ilhan Omar, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Governor Tim Walz. There has been talk about ending fraud in Minnesota for years. I am going to Washington to actually do it.”
Political opponents have seized on the indictment to push an agenda of tougher oversight and accountability, arguing that fraud of this size demonstrates systemic failure. From a Republican viewpoint, the focus is on protecting hardworking taxpayers, tightening rules, and ensuring benefits reach verified recipients in need. The allegation that fraud proceeds fund luxury purchases abroad escalates the political stakes and fuels calls for investigations into program administrators as well as individual perpetrators.
Critics also note the demographic and cultural angle in how the story has been framed, arguing that imported low-trust practices can be exploited in weakly supervised systems. That line of argument will be controversial, but it reflects a political strategy: highlight concrete cases of fraud to argue for policy changes and stricter enforcement. Local law enforcement making an arrest shows the system can work, but critics emphasize arrests are just one part of a larger enforcement problem.
Defenders of the safety net counter that the vast majority of recipients use benefits properly and that tighter rules can unintentionally harm needy families. Still, a seven-figure fraud allegation is the kind of headline that energizes voters concerned about waste and corruption. For candidates running on enforcement and fiscal responsibility, this case becomes a clear example to illustrate their platform in plain terms.
The practical fallout will depend on prosecution, potential convictions, and whether investigators uncover broader networks or accomplices. Prosecutors will need to prove intent and the chain of custody for transactions tied to the alleged scheme, while policy advocates will use the case to push audits, data matching, and improved fraud detection. Whatever the legal outcome, the political conversation around benefit integrity and accountability has been reignited in Minnesota and beyond.
Add comment