2 Syracuse men sentenced to prison, $1.7 million in fines after food stamp fraud probe

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Two Syracuse men, who previously pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to commit food stamp fraud, were sentenced to prison Friday and ordered to pay more than $1.7 million in fines. The sentencings come after an investigation by U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of the Inspector General.

Ebrima Krubally, 46, was sentenced to 48 months incarceration and Alieu Jaiteh, 32, was sentenced to 18 months. U.S. District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby also ordered both to pay restitution of $1,709,304.81 in connection with the fraud scheme. Jaiteh, a foreign national of Gambia, is also facing deportation as a result of this conviction and other immigration violations.

Krubally, a naturalized U.S. citizen also from Gambia, had been employed by the New York Department of Transportation as an engineer. Krubally also owned and operated Mama’s Imports, a food store.  Jaiteh is a former employee of Mama’s Imports.  Between 2009 and 2012, the defendants defrauded the government of more than $1.7 million in a fraud scheme which exchanged Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit coupons and cards for a discounted amount of cash or non-food items, including clothing, cellular phones, and DVDs.

SNAP uses tax dollars to subsidize food purchases by eligible low-income or no-income households.  SNAP benefits may only be used to purchase food in approved retail food stores, and may not be exchanged for cash or non-food items.

Substantial assistance in the investigation was provided by the Onondaga County Department of Social Services’ Welfare Fraud Unit, Oneida County Social Services, and the New York State Police.