A Mattapan convenience store owner was sentenced to two years in federal prison after prosecutors said his tiny storefront operated as a multimillion-dollar SNAP fraud mill.
Antonio Bonheur, 75, of Mattapan, owned Jesula Variety Store, a small shop that occupied about 150 square feet in Boston’s Mattapan neighborhood, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
Federal prosecutors said the store trafficked nearly $7 million in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits even though it had minimal food inventory and lacked basic features of a full grocery business.
Bonheur pleaded guilty in March to one count of food stamp fraud and one count of wire fraud. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani sentenced him to two years in prison, followed by two years of supervised release.
The Store Was Too Small for the SNAP Volume It Claimed
🚨 Owner of 150-sq-ft “convenience store” in Mattapan sentenced to federal prison for operating SNAP fraud mill.
Defendant trafficked nearly $7M in food benefits, outpacing large supermarkets, while fraudulently receiving SNAP benefits himself.
READ: https://t.co/hDRFD0yr39 pic.twitter.com/taWgjrYKwd
— U.S. Attorney Massachusetts (@DMAnews1) July 8, 2026
Jesula Variety Store had one cash register, no shopping carts, no handbaskets, no refrigerators or freezers, and only limited food inventory, according to prosecutors.
Despite those limits, the store’s monthly SNAP redemptions regularly exceeded $100,000. In many months, prosecutors said the redemptions topped $300,000 and sometimes reached $500,000.
One full-service supermarket in the same area redeemed about $82,000 per month in SNAP benefits, far below what Bonheur’s 150-square-foot store was processing.
Transaction Patterns Pointed to Trafficking, Not Grocery Sales
Investigators said the store’s transaction data did not match normal shopping activity for a small variety store. Only about 10% of SNAP transactions were for less than $40, while more than 70% exceeded $95.
Prosecutors said that pattern was more consistent with large supermarkets than a small shop with little legitimate food inventory.
The Justice Department said Bonheur operated Jesula Variety Store for more than three years primarily as a vehicle for SNAP trafficking rather than as a legitimate retail business.
Undercover Operations Found SNAP Benefits Exchanged for Cash
During the investigation, undercover operations documented SNAP benefits being exchanged for cash at Jesula Variety Store on four occasions.
Prosecutors said Bonheur personally worked the cash registers during those transactions. He also sold liquor in exchange for SNAP benefits, according to the Justice Department.
SNAP benefits are meant for eligible food purchases, not alcohol, cash exchanges, or transactions designed to drain benefit cards for profit.
Donated Meals Intended for Children Were Sold in the Store
The case also involved MannaPack meals, a donated food product made by the nonprofit Feed My Starving Children.
Those meals are paid for by charitable donations and are meant to be shipped and distributed to food-insecure children overseas, prosecutors said.
Instead, Jesula Variety Store sold the donated meals for about $8 per package, allowing Bonheur to profit from food that was never authorized for retail sale.
Prosecutors Say Bonheur Also Collected SNAP Benefits Himself
While Jesula Variety Store was receiving millions of dollars a year in SNAP redemptions, Bonheur was also issued his own SNAP card by the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance.
Prosecutors said he made multiple false statements about his income and assets when applying for those benefits.
He obtained SNAP benefits and then trafficked them for cash through his own store while also running the larger fraud scheme through the business.
The Sentence Includes Restitution and Forfeiture
Along with the two-year prison sentence, Bonheur was ordered to serve two years of supervised release.
The court also ordered him to pay $1 million in restitution in the form of a money judgment. Approximately $400,000 in seized funds were ordered forfeited.
Prosecutors said the scheme generated about $7 million in fraudulent SNAP redemptions, with Bonheur personally retaining roughly 20% of the proceeds.
SNAP Trafficking Can Hide Behind Routine Store Transactions
For regulators, auditors, and financial institutions, warning signs can include a tiny store processing supermarket-level SNAP totals, repeated high-dollar transactions, little visible food inventory, no equipment needed for normal grocery volume, frequent cash withdrawals, and sales patterns that do not match the business.
Customers should not give an EBT card or PIN to a store employee, exchange benefits for cash, or allow a store to run a transaction that does not match the food actually purchased.
Suspected SNAP retailer fraud can be reported to the USDA Office of Inspector General through the USDA nutrition program fraud reporting page. Massachusetts residents can also report suspected benefit fraud through the Massachusetts fraud hotline at 1-855-722-6621.