THE GOVERNMENT BENEFITS PROGRAM The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a federal funding program that helps low- income households get the food they need for meals. The amount of benefits a household receives is based on income, expenses, and number of people in the household. The SNAP program is administered by the states. Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) is an electronic system that allows a SNAP participant to pay for food using SNAP benefits. EBT cards look and function like debit cards.
When a participant shops at a SNAP authorized retail store, their SNAP EBT account is debited to reimburse the store for food that was purchased. EBT has been the sole method of SNAP issuance in all states since June 2004. EBT cards are associated with a Person Master Index (PMI), a unique number assigned to a person from the Department of Health, much like a Social Security Number. The PMI is associated with a specific person to assess and dispense benefits. EBT TRAFFICKING SCHEMES EBT trafficking can take many forms.
Sometimes, people let others use their EBT card then report their EBT cards as lost or stolen. The fraudulent user, someone not entitled to use that EBT card or receive the benefits contained thereon, will then make purchases using that EBT card. The EBT cardholder then often receives a “kickback” from the fraudulent user for the illegal use of the EBT card. That kickback could be derived from re-selling the product purchased via illegally obtained EBT funds. THE INVESTIGATION In May 2021, representatives from Wal-Mart’s Global Investigation Team contacted the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) concerning several people in the Minneapolis area associated with two businesses with concerns of an EBT trafficking scheme.
Wal-Mart discovered that a small group of people were making multiple purchases of products such as energy drinks and baby formula using EBT cards that did not belong to them. These purchases were made primarily at Sam’s Club, a wholesale chain store owned by Wal-Mart. BCA Special Agents began investigating ABDIDWAHID SHALLE MOHAMED [DOB REDACTED]. MOHAMED is the owner of Minnesota Food Grocery LLC, a business located at [ADDRESS REDACTED] in Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota. Law enforcement surveilled MOHAMED and observed him making purchases at Sam’s Club using EBT cards of other people.
MOHAMED would then load the purchased goods into one of his two vehicles and deliver those goods directly to Minnesota Food Grocery, where he and his employees unloaded it. Goods purchased from retailers like Sam’s Club were observed to be on the store shelves of Minnesota Food Grocery for resale. MOHAMED frequently purchased energy drinks and baby formula at Sam’s Club and Costco, another wholesale retail store, to stock the shelves of Minnesota Food Grocery for resale. 2 ••-CR-••-•••• Filed in District Court State of Minnesota 5/6/2026 Law enforcement traced transactions of various EBT cards as part of this EBT Trafficking Scheme.
