Manchester Store Owner, Staffer Plead In SNAP-Male Enhancement Case

Manchester CT

10 May, 2022

4:16 PM

Description

MANCHESTER, CT — A Manchester convenience store owner and staffer, accused of circumventing the federal food stamp program by allowing, among other things, the subsidized purchase of male enhancements, have entered pleas in their cases, a prosecutor said. Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Javed Saeed, 52, and Dagster Saeed, 68, both of South Windsor, entered guilty pleas Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven to food stamp fraud offenses. The federal Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program, commonly know as SNAP is administered by the USDA's Food and Nutrition Service and utilizes federal tax dollars to subsidize low-income households to provide them with the opportunity to achieve a more nutritious diet by increasing their food-purchasing power. SNAP recipients purchase eligible food items at retail food stores through the use of an Electronic Benefits Transfer — or EBT — card, and SNAP benefits may be accepted by authorized retailers only in exchange for eligible items, Avery said. Items such as alcoholic beverages, cigarettes, paper goods and soaps are not eligible for purchase with Food Stamp benefits, and it is a violation of the rules and regulations governing the food stamp program to allow benefits to be used to purchase ineligible items, she added. SNAP benefits may not lawfully be exchanged for cash under any circumstances, she added. The program is designed so that the total amount of each purchase made with SNAP benefits is electronically transferred to the retailer's designated bank account. According to court documents and statements made in court, Javed Saeed is the owner of Manchester Quick Mart, a convenience store and Mobil gas station located at 262 Oakland St. in Manchester. His father, Dastgir Saeed, and others, including Siddiq Chaudhary and Mohammed Khan, helped operate the store, according to case records. Between January 2017 and January 2020, Javeed Saeed, Dastgir Saeed, Chaudhary, Khan and others illegally allowed customers to redeem their food stamp benefits for cash and other ineligible items, including gasoline and male enhancement pills, and charged the customers' food stamp cards a premium of nearly 50 percent for these transactions, Avery said. Javed and Dastgir Saeed have agreed to pay restitution in the total amount of $211,208, records show. Javed and Dastgir Saeed each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit food stamp fraud, an offense that carries maximum term of imprisonment of five years. Judge Hall scheduled sentencing for Aug. 2. Chaudhary and Khan, both of South Windsor, previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit food stamp fraud and one count of engaging in food stamp fraud, and they are scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 8 and 9, respectively.