Minneapolis grocery store owner charged in $1 million food assistance fraud

A Minneapolis grocery store owner faces felony charges in what investigators say was a million-dollar food assistance fraud scheme.

Abdid-Wahid Mohamed is accused of using other people’s EBT cards to get more than a million dollars to buy items from wholesale stores that he later sold at his own store.

EBT cards work like debit cards for low-income families who receive government-paid benefits.

Investigators said Mohamed owned Minnesota Food Grocery LLC near West Lake Street in Minneapolis and was seen buying items such as energy drinks and baby formula with EBT cards that did not belong to him.

Investigators said Mohamed then loaded the goods into his vehicles and took them to Minnesota Food Grocery, where they were unloaded and placed on store shelves for resale.

The court filing says one woman identified as F.F. told investigators she had not paid for groceries at Minnesota Food Grocery for more than 1.5 years after agreeing to let Mohamed use her EBT card.

The charging document says that between March 8, 2021 and Aug. 10, 2021, Mohamed received $1,141,082 in EBT payments.

If convicted, Mohamed could face up to 20 years in prison.