Islamic Food Market Owner Expected To Plead Guilty To Defrauding Federal Government By Diverting Welfare Money

Prosecutors say the Iraq native, who is a U.S. citizen, diverted $3.5 million in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funds he got through his halal market (which sold food that fulfills Islamic law) in Portland, Maine to a private checking account from July 2011 through April 2016. The government claims the store owner fraudulently diverted food-purchasing funds meant for poor people to buy food inventory, to pay store operating expenses, and for personal use.