Man Gets 3-Year Sentence for Food Stamp Scam
A South-Central Los Angeles man has been sentenced to three years and one month in prison by a federal judge after pleading guilty to conspiracy charges in what government officials said was the largest illegal food stamp trafficking scheme ever uncovered in the Los Angeles area.
According to an indictment issued last September, Charles Andrews-Bey, also known as Mikloth Brown, and a co-conspirator set up two stores to redeem $2.1 million in food stamps acquired on the black market. Both stores were fraudulent operations selling little if any food, said Assistant U.S. Atty. Charles L. Kreindler, who prosecuted the case.
Instead, Andrews-Bey and co-conspirator Aji Ashley purchased food stamps from recipients for a cash sum lower than the face value of the coupons. Then the pair deposited the stamps into bank accounts and received credit with the stamps’ full face value. Kreindler said the pair netted between $350,000 and $1 million on the operation. Ashley already has been sentenced to the same term.
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