Former Flint store owner sentenced to prison in food stamp scheme

By JAMES PAXSON

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    FLINT, Michigan (WNEM) — The former owner of Shorthorn Meats in Flint, Sohyl Halloun, was sentenced to 42 months in federal prison Tuesday and has been ordered to pay more than $4.4 million in restitution for conspiring to commit wire fraud.

According to court documents, Halloun and other conspirators provided Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program users about $0.50 on the dollar in exchange for their food stamp benefits. They go on to explain that he and his employees either provided money to food stamp recipients in exchange for benefits or engaged in another scheme that involved other conspirators and a car wash. The total loss was $4,424,692.

Investigators also found large amounts of expired food at the store while executing search warrants. One of the co-defendants admitted in a court filing that Halloun told him to pour bleach water on rotting chicken so it could be sold.

Halloun had to be extradited from Israel after leaving during the investigation.

U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison said she hopes this sentence deters other store owners from engaging in this illegal activity.

“SNAP uses federal tax dollars to help low-income individuals put food on their tables,” said Ison. “This defendant’s actions not only stole from taxpayers but also diverted necessary assistance from those who truly need and benefit from this food assistance program.”

USDA-Office of Inspector General Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Salvador Gonzalez shared a similar message.

“This investigation and prosecution should send a strong zero-tolerance message to those individuals engaged in the practice of defrauding taxpayer funded WIC and SNAP programs,” said Gonzalez. “It should also serve as a warning to all stores, that participate in the WIC and SNAP programs as vendors, that fraud and trafficking (purchasing those benefits for cash) will be vigorously investigated and prosecuted by the USDA-OIG, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and all its federal, state, and local partners that have a stake in ensuring that fraud is eliminated from taxpayer funded programs.”

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