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David Quinones, 44, of Chicago, pleaded guilty to a federal wire
fraud charge. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
SNAP is a federal program administered by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture and U.S. states. The program was designed to provide
benefits to supplement the food budgets of eligible individuals
and families. Retail stores authorized to participate in SNAP
can accept SNAP benefits through EBT cards, also known as Link
cards, as payment for eligible food items. It is illegal for
stores or people to exchange Link cards for cash or other items.
Quinones admitted in a plea agreement that from 2018 to 2023, he
gave cash or other items to SNAP recipients in exchange for
access to their Link cards and associated identification
numbers.
Quinones used the cards to buy goods at authorized retail
stores, fraudulently representing himself as the authorized user
of the cards. He then re-sold most of the goods, keeping the
proceeds for himself.
Quinones admitted that he used more than 1,200 cards and
fraudulently caused the USDA to pay out approximately $1,554,804
in SNAP benefits.
U.S. District Judge Steven Seeger set sentencing for June 18. |
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