A Chicago-area convenience store owner has been found guilty of defrauding a food program for women and children living on meager incomes. The verdict, handed down by a federal jury, convicted Hassan Abdellatif on multiple counts, including wire fraud and failure to file tax returns. As reported by the U.S. Department of Justice, Abdellatif's sentencing is set for August 26.
The trial, which played out in Chicago's federal court, concluded after one week of testimonies and evidence presentation. Abdellatif, who managed several stores including El Milagro Mini Market and Harding Grocery, was found to be at the center of a scheme that defrauded the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program. The government-funded WIC program is designed "to provide a nutritious diet to moderate and low-income infants, children up to five years of age, and pregnant, breastfeeding, and post-partum women," the U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois stated.
Abdellatif and his co-defendants were caught allowing WIC customers to trade their checks for ineligible items, often at raised prices. The U.S. Attorney's Office revealed that two of Abdellatif's stores alone had redeemed more than $6.5 million in WIC checks as part of this fraudulent operation. In total, $19 million worth of WIC checks were wrongly redeemed by ten stores over an eight-year stretch. Before Abdellatif's trial, all of his eight co-defendants pleaded guilty.
Officials, including Andrew S. Boutros, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI’s Chicago Field Office, played key roles in holding the perpetrators accountable. Significant contributions also came from Shantel R. Robinson of the USDA Office of Inspector General and Ramsey E. Covington of IRS Criminal Investigation. Together, these agencies conducted a thorough investigation to bring justice in a case that diverted funds intended to help vulnerable communities. The U.S. Attorney’s Office was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kartik Raman, Rick Young, and Matthew Moyer in the case against Abdellatif.
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