Chicago man sentenced to more than 4 years after fraudulently obtaining over $1.5 million in SNAP benefits

A Chicago man will spend more than four years in federal prison after fraudulently obtaining more than $1.5 million in benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois announced on Monday.

Prosecutors said that from 2018 to 2023, David Quinones, 45, gave cash or other items to SNAP recipients in exchange for access to their SNAP EBT cards, also known as Link, which is illegal.

Quinones then used the cards to purchase various items from authorized retail stores, but was not the authorized owner of the cards. He then resold most of the items and kept the proceeds.

According to prosecutors, Quinones fraudulently used more than 1,200 cards, resulting in the United States Department of Agriculture paying out $1,554,804 in SNAP benefits.

Quinones pleaded guilty last year to a federal wire fraud charge. On Monday, March 9, he was sentenced to four years and four months in federal prison and ordered to pay $1,554,804 in restitution to the government.