Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Corvette, Maserati Purchased in $5M Food Stamp, WIC Scheme

By Alicia Cruz
The Black Urban Times

Federal investigators in the Peach State are searching for some pricey high-end items in connection with a food stamp fraud case including  2005 Corvette, a 2003 Ferrari and a 2005 Maserati.

Police say the $5 million Women, Infant and Children (WIC) and food stamp programs scam netted the arrests of seven people and involved 13 stores in the city of Savannah, and Chatham, Fulton, DeKalb and Monroe counties.

A federal grand jury returned indictments against all seven people between July and October 2011, said the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Savannahnow.com reported that the accused converted funds from the public assistance programs into cash using retail stores owned by two of the defendants beginning in 2009. Federal investigators are seeking the forfeiture of $5 million and various bank accounts and assets.

Rupert Jones, 34, Jewell Allen, 57, and Sabrina Sesberry, 38 all of Atlanta; Rashella Reed, 40, and Derrick Robinson, 40, both of Riverdale; Patrina Barge; 41, of Decatur, and Litricia Allen, 37, of Savannah were all arrested.

Sesberry, Litricia Allen, Jones, Jewell Allen, Reed and Robinson are charged with one count of wire fraud conspiracy, and face a maximum of 10 years in prison, including up to a $250,000 fine. Sesberry and Litricia Allen are also charged with stealing government funds, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000.

Sesberry, Litricia Allen, Jones, Barge and Reed are charged with a conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine up to $500,000.

All have entered not guilty pleas and were released from custody in lieu of $25,000 bonds with the exception of Robinson.

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