East L.A. Market Operator Charged With Fraud in Food Stamp Purchase
The operator of an East Los Angeles market was charged with food stamp fraud Tuesday for allegedly paying an undercover agent $240 for coupons worth $480.
It was the second felony case in as many days stemming from an undercover investigation into fraudulent use of emergency food stamps provided since the earthquake, according to the district attorney’s office.
Antonio Sandoval, 30, allegedly bought the stamps from an agent who visited T & M Market at 4770 Brooklyn Ave. Sandoval could have redeemed the coupons for their full face value, a prosecutor said.
Sandoval is charged with one count of violating a section of the California Welfare and Institutions Code, which makes it a felony for an unauthorized person to use, transfer, sell, purchase or possess food stamps valued at more than $400.
In an unrelated earlier case, prosecutors charged two men with buying food stamps from an undercover agent outside a distribution center in South-Central Los Angeles.
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