DES MOINES, Iowa — A Des Moines grocery store owner has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Court documents said that Osman Rashid Jama, 39, defrauded the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) from at least January 2017 through April 2019. Jama was sentenced on Friday.
Jama owned and operated the MidCity Halal Food Market on Douglas Avenue in Des Moines. That's where authorities said he, and others at his direction, scanned SNAP and WIC recipients’ EBT cards at his store.
But instead of giving the recipient the WIC and/or SNAP-approved items, Jama and others gave recipients non-approved items, store credit, and cash.
Jama also used SNAP recipients’ EBT cards to purchase items to stock his store.
Jama was found to have defrauded the programs for $1,445,460.47 and was ordered to pay restitution.
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