Minneapolis grocery store owner charged in $1.14M EBT fraud scheme

A Minneapolis man who owned a grocery store is accused in a $1.14 million scheme in which he would allegedly make purchases using other people's EBT cards and sell the products on his shelves.

According to the complaint, the 60-year-old man purchased goods — including energy drinks and baby formula — at Sam's Club and Costco using EBT cards that did not belong to him. In one instance in 2021, the complaint says he purchased $781.56 worth of items from Costco and returned directly to his store on West Lake Street.

Investigators tracked down the EBT card that was used during the Costco visit and the person who was registered to it. According to the complaint, the woman, who had five children, left the U.S. in March 2021 and hadn't returned since. She told investigators via email that she had briefly lost her card but had never lent it to anyone.

According to the complaint, investigators arrested the man in August 2021. In the months that followed, they spoke to more than two dozen people whose EBT cards the grocery store owner had allegedly used. Several people no longer lived in the U.S., the complaint said.

Between March 8, 2021 and Aug. 10, 2021, the man received more than $1.4 million in EBT payments, the complaint says. 

He was charged with one count of financial transaction card fraud. His first court appearance is scheduled for May 27.