A Chicago man has been sentenced to four years in federal prison for defrauding a government program intended to help low-income women and children. Hassan Abdellatif, 37, was found guilty by a federal jury last year on five counts, including two counts of wire fraud, one count of fraudulently obtaining government benefits, and two counts of willfully failing to file corporate tax returns.
According to court records, from 2010 to 2018 Abdellatif worked with eight other convenience store owners or employees in the Chicago area to illegally redeem checks from the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program. The WIC program is funded by the federal government and provides nutritional support for low-income children as well as pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women. Authorities said Abdellatif and others knowingly allowed customers to use WIC checks for items not eligible under the program and often at inflated prices. Ten stores involved in the scheme redeemed more than $19 million in WIC checks during this period.
In addition to his prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Jorge L. Alonso ordered Abdellatif to pay over $8.8 million in restitution to the government.
Eight other individuals were also charged as part of this investigation; all have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
The announcement was made by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; Shantel R. Robinson, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Midwest Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General; and Adam Jobes, Special Agent-in-Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in Chicago. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kartik K. Raman and Rick Young prosecuted the case.
“Hassan Abdellatif and his co-schemers engaged in conduct that was extremely serious, complex, and wide-ranging in scope,” AUSA Raman argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “Vulnerable communities are impacted when individuals steal from those programs.”
