Two Massachusetts Haitian Men Charged in $7 Million SNAP Benefits Fraud Scheme

Two Massachusetts Haitian Men Charged in $7 Million SNAP Benefits Fraud Scheme

Massachusetts federal prosecutors charged two Haitian men with allegedly running a $7 million SNAP benefits scam.

Antonis Bonheur, 74, is a naturalized U.S. citizen from Haiti, and owner of the Jesula Variety Store (JVS) in Mattapan, MA, located about 7.5 miles south of Boston.

Saul Alisme, 24, is a lawful permanent resident, but still a citizen of Haiti. He owns the Saul Mache Mixe Store (SMM), which has only been a SNAP Authorized place since February 2025.

JVS allegedly trafficked over $6 million in SNAP benefits over three years. SMM allegedly trafficked over $121,890 in benefits since May of 2025.

They also allegedly stole and sold food meant for the nonprofit organization Feed My Starving Children:

It is further alleged that both stores sold MannaPack meals, a donated food product manufactured by the nonprofit Feed My Starving Children. These meals are paid for entirely by charitable donations intended for shipment and distribution to food-insecure children overseas and are never authorized for retail sale. The defendants allegedly sold donated MannaPack meals in their stores for approximately $8 per package, profiting from food intended for humanitarian relief.

From the charging documents:

JVS began accepting SNAP Benefits in September 2021. Over the course of the investigation, investigators have become familiar with JVS. Based upon the investigation of JESULA VARIETY STORE including my investigation of the documents reporting the physical premises of 1549 Blue Hill Avenue, and multiple instances where purchases have been made from JVS, I know that the actual footprint of JVS is comprised of approximately 150 square feet of space.

In addition to trafficking SNAP Benefits for millions of dollars in cash through JESULA VARIETY STORE, BONHEUR also fraudulently applied for SNAP Benefits himself in 2022, claiming to have zero income and failing to list JVS. Since 2022, BONHEUR has been collecting SNAP Benefits based on this fraudulent application, often conducting transactions at JVS in amounts exceeding $95. Effectively, BONHEUR himself was receiving SNAP Benefits, despite owning a business, and that business itself conducting millions of dollars in SNAP redemptions in the past calendar years.

The charging documents explained that their tiny bodegas did not appear to be typical stores or fit into the neighborhood due to their size and inventory, given the amount of SNAP benefits they received.

“These were not supermarkets,” said Leah Foley, the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts. “They were not full-service groceries. It would be a huge stretch to even call them convenience stores. In fact, the only thing convenient about these stores was how easy it was to commit SNAP benefit fraud.”

The investigation found that both stores conducted “numerous transactions for over $95 in a single day, and hundreds of such transactions per month.”

SSM’s total per month was $30,000, and JVS racked up $300,000 per month.

How was this possible despite having nothing for customers to carry their products, empty shelves, one register, and no barcode scanners?

“Simply put, Jesula Variety Store and Saul Mache Mix Store simply do not have sufficient SNAP eligible food inventory to support the number and value of the transactions,” according to the documents.

The agent who wrote the document described JVS as “a closet with shelves and a register.”

Surveillance helped back up the claims because people would leave after making big transactions…without any merchandise in their hands.

Here’s the thing. How did these two men become eligible to participate in SNAP?

Did anyone check on the store? Yes. Yes, they did.

JVS has participated in SNAP since 2021. The agent reviewed those documents, and, well, JVS never even tried to spruce up those stores for officials. Undercover transactions even revealed the truth:

Investigators know from the undercover transactions taking place since the most recent store visit, which are discussed below, that JVS still does not have any refrigerators on its premises and does not sell refrigerated meat, refrigerated seafood, or any refrigerated produce. JVS also does not sell refrigerated beverages, dairy products, or eggs or milk. Of the SNAP eligible foods, it appears that JVS primarily sells dry foods, such as beans, rice, corn, potatoes, and spices. JVS stocks very few packaged food items that are SNAP eligible. At most, I would estimate a few hundred items to be in inventory at any given time.

Investigators have reviewed the reports of the FNS store visits to JVS in June 2021 and March 2024. The reports of the store visits to JVS show little difference from the March 2025 store visit, including: the physical premises of JVS is in the same location; the physical premises of JVS is the same square footage; the same single cash register with no optical scanner; no handbaskets and no carriages; the amount and type of food available at JVS is generally consistent; and JVS has no refrigerator.

“What were missing from the financial records were the things you would expect in any real grocery store, such as charges for wholesale invoices or large purchases for food inventory,” said Foley. “Instead, the accounts reflected round-trip transactions, cash movements, and internal transfers to launder the snap proceeds. This case exposes a serious breakdown in oversight.”

Bonheur then applied for SNAP benefits for himself in 2022. He wrote on the application that only one person lived in his house and that no one in the household received income or benefits. He also claimed he paid $1,350.

Bonheur also told the government that his income and money in his bank account combined are less than his monthly housing expenses, and that his monthly income is less than $150.

His application said his only income comes from social security.

“Between 2022 and present, Bonheur received a total of approximately $10,821.66 in SNAP benefits, averaging to $338 per month,” wrote the agent. “For Bonheur’s SNAP benefits, every single transaction in the year 2025 was conducted at JVS.”

Again, where are the officials?

“I believe that Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance apparently did not compare the income Bonheur actually received from JVS to the income, which he certified he received ‘$0.00’ on his application,” added the agent. “During the period of Bonheur receiving SNAP benefits, investigators located dozens of instances where Bonheur redeemed SNAP Benefits at JVS, the store he owned.”

It’s not over yet.

“We are planning to continue to investigate other stores and businesses where anomalous volumes of EBT transactions that are happening on a daily and monthly basis is completely untethered from the realities of what those stores legitimately could ever possibly redeem,” Foley told the media.

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