And There’s Jesus Right Up At the Cash Register

MLive-

A 60-year-old woman and her two adult daughters must serve prison terms and repay $722,149 in food stamp benefits they fraudulently obtained.

Cruz Gonzalez and her daughters Fabiola Garcia and Gisela Mendoza were convicted of a conspiracy to illegally exchange benefits for cash, cell phones, and other ineligible items at La Fortuna Carniceria in Oceana County’s Shelby.

Gonzalez and Garcia were sentenced Wednesday, Jan. 11 in Grand Rapids by U.S. District Court Judge Gordon J. Quist,according to a press release from U.S. Attorney Patrick Miles. Mendoza was sentenced earlier, in November 2016.

“The federal government cannot tolerate the theft of federal program benefits meant to aid low income individuals meet daily nutritional needs,” Miles said. “Such theft undermines the public’s confidence in the SNAP program and diminishes the government’s ability to provide food assistance to those citizens most in need.”

In addition to restitution, Gonzalez was sentenced to 33 months in prison, Garcia was sentenced to 20 months, and Mendoza was sentenced to six months in prison.

The federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, are distributed in Michigan through an electronic benefits transfer card, called Bridge Cards.

Investigators determined the fraud totaled $722,149 over six years, from Feb. 2008 to Jan. 2014.

Mendoza in February 2008 signed SNAP paperwork indicating she was the sole proprietor of the store and her sister, Garcia, was the store manager, according to the federal indictment. The sisters and their mother allowed customers to redeem SNAP benefits for cash and other ineligible items, pocketing 50 percent of the SNAP money spent in such transactions.

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I guess none of the reporters did any research. I found a picture of the store and I was particularly taken by Jesus having a prominent place right next to these crook’s cash register.

I hear a lot about how I’m supposed to be overjoyed with the influx of Mexicans (legal or illegal) over our border because they are such God fearing people.

Uh huh.

ht/ rob e.