ERIE, Pa. – A resident of Erie, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 2 years probation and ordered to make restitution in the amount of $52,236.68 on his conviction of food stamp fraud, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.
United States District Judge Susan Paradise Baxter imposed the sentence on Bader Al-Dhumani, 57, 836 East 11th Street, Erie, Pennsylvania.
According to information presented to the court, from in and around January 2015 to in and around April 2020, Al-Dhumani, who is the owner and operator of Palm Tree Market in Erie, committed food stamp fraud by accepting food stamps for cash, store credit, and ineligible items. Al-Dhumani also took possession of customers’ PA Access Cards so that he could use the customers’ food stamp benefits at other stores to purchase inventory for his store.
Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
United States Attorney Chung commended the United States Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General and Homeland Security Investigations for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Al-Dhumani.