A Florida convenience store owner allegedly bought food stamp benefits for about half their value, then used the cards to purchase merchandise for resale. Federal prosecutors say the operation involved more than $500,000 in benefits meant to help families buy food.
Al Amin, 52, of Hollywood, was charged with two federal conspiracies in a criminal complaint filed Oct. 28, 2026. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida announced the case on Oct. 30.
Investigators traced hundreds of online orders to a Hollywood residence and a nearby convenience store, including bulk purchases of energy drinks.
A federal affidavit also details an undercover operation in which cards containing more than $64,000 in benefits were exchanged for less than $30,000 in cash.
Store Owner Allegedly Paid Half Price for Food Benefits
According to the criminal complaint and supporting affidavit, an undercover USDA investigator asked Amin on Nov. 15, 2024, whether he wanted to purchase an EBT card. Amin allegedly agreed and said he typically paid half the card’s benefit value in cash.
Investigators linked the alleged activity to Kwik Stop 72, operated by 72nd Avenue Food and Grocery LLC in Hollywood, and purchases delivered to a nearby residence associated with Amin. The complaint describes suspected conduct from approximately October 2023 through March 2026.
613 Orders Involved 448 EBT Cards and Bulk Energy Drinks
One retailer’s records linked a Hollywood residential address to 613 orders involving approximately 448 SNAP cards from October 2023 through February 2025. The transactions totaled $442,682.97 and included cases of Monster, Red Bull and Celsius energy drinks, along with other goods commonly sold in convenience stores.
Kwik Stop 72 was separately associated with 51 orders involving 47 cards and $15,091.56 in purchases. Investigators also photographed Amin during what they described as a $1,573.44 purchase of energy drinks and candy using an EBT card at a Miramar retailer on Dec. 20, 2024.
Undercover Cards Worth $64,388 Were Exchanged for $29,474
A USDA-contracted investigator working undercover visited Kwik Stop 72 about 20 times between November 2024 and February 2025. Across exchanges involving Amin and two associates through June 2025, the investigator provided cards containing approximately $64,388.46 in benefits and received $29,474 in cash.
On Nov. 15, 2024, for example, the table records a $575 cash payment associated with $1,159.90 in benefits. A later exchange on March 20, 2025, involved $1,950 in cash and two undercover cards with a combined balance of $5,997.36, which were subsequently used in nearly $6,000 in purchases, investigators alleged.
Detectives Traced Purchases and Messages About Card Balances
By March 2025, Homeland Security Investigations agents had joined the surveillance operation, and the undercover investigator was equipped to record audio and video. On March 31, task force officers reported observing Amin at a self-checkout in Miramar with cases of Monster and Celsius drinks; transaction records attributed a $755.44 purchase to an EBT card used there.
Investigators also described repeated card exchanges in which previously used cards were returned and new cards supplied. The affidavit says Amin instructed the undercover investigator to send text messages containing card PINs, balances and amounts owed before the next meeting.
Florida Department of Children and Families records showed approximately 52 calls from a telephone number associated with Amin to check other people’s EBT balances, according to the affidavit. The most recent inquiry identified in those records occurred on March 22, 2026.
Florida’s Energy Drink Restrictions Came After the Cited Purchases
The USDA’s retailer guidance prohibits businesses from using someone else’s SNAP benefits to buy store inventory, including indirectly purchasing merchandise that other people bought with their benefits.
Florida separately barred SNAP purchases of energy drinks, soda, candy and certain prepared desserts beginning April 20, 2026. The specific energy-drink transactions documented in the affidavit took place before that change, while buying or selling benefit access for cash was already prohibited.
Federal Charges Bring Potential Prison Terms and November Hearings
Amin faces a conspiracy charge under 18 U.S.C. Section 371 involving the unauthorized acquisition or use of SNAP benefits and a separate conspiracy-to-commit-wire-fraud charge under Section 1349. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says the counts carry maximum prison terms of five years and 20 years, respectively, if he is convicted.
The federal court docket, case 0:26-mj-06617-PAB, records Amin’s Oct. 29 initial appearance before Magistrate Judge Panayotta Augustin-Birch. The judge set a $250,000 personal surety bond, authorizing release upon surrender of his passport. A further bond-and-counsel hearing was scheduled for Nov. 2, followed by an arraignment and preliminary examination on Nov. 12 in Fort Lauderdale.