On Friday, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich the sentencing of a husband and wife who engaged in fraudulent food stamp transactions. Bernard Le-Uh, 44, and his wife Monica Le-Uh, 33, own Nicben African Caribbean Market Plus located at 6220 N. 43rd Ave. Glendale, AZ 85301.
A joint investigation conducted by the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, the United States Department of Agriculture, the Arizona Department of Economic Security, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation revealed that the owners would fraudulently charge the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) for cash and split the money with the SNAP recipient.
Approximately $2.3 million in illegal transactions occurred at the store between November of 2010 and March of 2014.
On April 10, 2015, Bernard Le-Uh was sentenced to four years in the Arizona Department of Corrections followed by three years of supervised probation. His charges include: Fraudulent Schemes and Artifices, Money Laundering, and two counts of Unlawful Use of Food Stamps. Monica Le-Uh was sentenced to two years of supervised probation for one count Fraudulent Schemes and Artifices.
The couple is also ordered to repay the stolen funds to the SNAP program.
“SNAP is a compassionate program intended to help families who are experiencing extreme financial difficulties,” said Attorney General Mark Brnovich. “It’s absolutely deplorable that anyone would bilk hard-working taxpayers and insult legitimate recipients who struggle to put food on the table.”