A Brooklyn, New York, retailer has been indicted after investigators say more than $640,000 in SNAP benefits were stolen from Ohio recipients through thousands of fraudulent transactions.
The Ohio Investigative Unit (OIU) and the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office announced that a grand jury indicted Raed Subhi Abu Mohammad and Hot Spot Convenience 2 following a lengthy investigation into stolen Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
According to investigators, the scheme involved nearly 3,000 fraudulent transactions conducted between March 2024 and January 2025 using stolen Ohio Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card information.
Agents allege Mohammad fraudulently obtained the federal Food and Nutrition Service permit number belonging to a legitimate retailer and used it to process unauthorized transactions on compromised Ohio EBT accounts.
Investigators say the operation resulted in 2,823 fraudulent transactions and more than $643,000 in stolen SNAP benefits from Ohio recipients. More than $260,000 of those losses were tied to victims in Cuyahoga County alone.
Officials said many of the victims had never traveled to New York, where the transactions were processed. Investigators also found that many of the purchases occurred between midnight and 4 a.m., with multiple transactions often made back-to-back to drain an account’s entire balance quickly.
During December 2024 alone, authorities say nearly $240,000 in SNAP benefits were stolen from Ohio recipients through the scheme.
The investigation revealed that stolen funds were rapidly converted into cash through large withdrawals and wire transfers.
Mohammad and Hot Spot Convenience 2 have been charged with illegal use of SNAP benefits, telecommunications fraud, aggravated theft, and money laundering.
Mohammad was arrested by the New York City Police Department on June 4 and is awaiting extradition to Ohio, where he will face arraignment in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.
“We hope this case serves as a reminder that the Ohio Investigative Unit will pursue anyone, anywhere when they victimize our most vulnerable population,” said OIU Senior Enforcement Commander Greg Croft. “We have a duty to protect the citizens of the State of Ohio and the integrity of Ohio’s EBT program, regardless of where these bad actors operate from.”
State officials say SNAP benefit theft has become an increasing problem nationwide, often involving card-skimming devices that capture EBT card numbers and PINs at payment terminals.
In response, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services has implemented additional security measures, including automatically locking Ohio EBT cards for out-of-state transactions unless authorized by the recipient.
Officials encourage SNAP recipients to regularly change their PINs, use hard-to-guess numbers, monitor account activity, and utilize security features available through ConnectEBT.
The investigation was conducted with assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General, Food and Nutrition Service Office of Retailer Operations and Compliance, and the U.S. Secret Service.
