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LOCAL
THE CHAMPION, THURSDAY, MARCH 28 - APRIL 3, 2024 • PAGE 8
prison for SNAP scheme
Two DeKalb men received prison time for a SNAP scheme that collected
more than $10 million. File photo
Decatur
BY JAY PHILLIPS
JAY@DEKALBCHAMP.COM
A fugitive from Decatur
was sentenced to federal
prison time after being
captured by authorities
when trying to enter
Istanbul, Turkey, with a fake
Mexican passport.
Uttam Haider, a 43-year-
old from Decatur, pleaded
guilty in September to a
series of charges stemming
from a $10 million scheme
to purchase Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance
Program (SNAP) benefits
from low-income recipients.
A news release from
from U.S. Attorney's Office
Northern District of Georgia
stated on March 19 that
Hadler was sentenced to
68 months of incarceration,
followed by three years of
supervised release, and
men get
ordered to pay restitution in
the amount of $10,340,986.
"The federal government
trusted Haider to safeguard
precious SNAP funds
designed to alleviate hunger
but he abused that trust to
fuel his greed by profiting
from a multimillion-dollar
scheme to fraudulently
redeem SNAP benefits,"
said U.S. Attorney Ryan
Buchanan.
His co-conspirator,
Paltu Roy, 51, of Stone
Mountain pleaded guilty to
one count of conspiracy to
commit wire fraud. Roy was
sentenced on April 20, 2022,
to three years and one
month in prison, followed
by three years of supervised
release, and ordered to pay
$3,071,235 in restitution to
the USDA.
According to Buchanan,
the charges, and other
information presented in
court, Haider owned and
operated a small meat
market in Atlanta called Big
Daddy's Discount Meat. He
enrolled Big Daddy's as a
retailer for the USDA's SNAP
in 2014.
Haider's store was in
Fulton County, but between
2015 and 2020, Haider
loaned his EBT terminals
to Food World in DeKalb
and Big Brother Mini
Supermarket in Fulton.
These loans were against
SNAP rules.
The news release states
that Roy—the operator
of Big Brother Mini
Supermarket and Food
World—agreed to share
profits with Haider from
Big Daddy's terminals used
illegally at those stores.
Both stores made cash
payments to customers in
return for redeeming their
SNAP benefits at the rate
of roughly 50 cents on the
dollar, according to the news
release.
Buchanan's office
reported that Big Daddy's
terminals collected
more than $10 million in
fraudulent redemptions of
SNAP benefits during those
six years and that Haider
shared a substantial portion
of the profits.
Police capture two suspects involved in more than 60 car break-ins
BY CHRISTINE FONVILLE
CHRISTINE@DEKALBCHAMP.COM
DeKalb County police said they have arrested
two suspects they believe are responsible for
more than 60 car break-ins throughout DeKalb
County and metro-Atlanta.
The arrests occurred on Dec. 7. Officials with
the DeKalb County Police Department said that
at approximately 3 a.m., officers responded to
The Vue at Embry Hills apartments in Atlanta "in
reference to suspects attempting to break into
multiple vehicles within the complex."
"Once officers arrived on scene, the suspects
fled in a stolen vehicle before crashing and
fleeing on foot," stated police. "A short time
later, with the assistance of the Clarkston
Police Department and Avondale Estates Police
Department, two suspects were apprehended
and taken into custody without incident."
Police had not released the identities of the
suspects at press time, but evidence found at
the scene of the crime led officials to believe the
suspects were involved in multiple car break-ins.
The arrests resulted in police recovering a
stolen firearm, stated officials. Along with the
gun, a photograph shared by police shows other
stolen items, including shoes, purses, credit
cards, electronics, and weapons.
While violent crime has been trending down
in and around metro Atlanta, theft (particularly
car break-ins and stolen vehicles) has been
increasing in the past three years, according to
Police said they arrested two suspects they believe are
responsible for more than 60 car break-ins in and around
metro-Atlanta. File photo
multiple law enforcement agencies.
Locally, police have hosted events giving away
car theft prevention devices as well as providing
tips to prevent car break-ins, including:
• Leave any items at home that might be
attractive to thieves.
• Put items attractive to thieves in a car's trunk
before arriving at a destination. (Putting the
items in the trunk while at a parking spot can
tip off a thief, stated police.)
• Never leave anything visible inside the vehicle
- "This is the single most important thing car
owners can do to prevent a car window from
being smashed and your valuables stolen,"
stated police.
• Always take out handbags, purses, wallets, cell
phones, guns, packages, laptops and laptop
cases, gym bags, and briefcases.
• Put away chargers even when electronics are
hidden. "If the thief sees the charger, he'll
break into the car on the assumption that the
device is hidden under a seat, in an interior
compartment, or inside a trunk," said police.
• Never leave loose change in the vehicle,
especially in a visible place.
• Park in a well-lit location with large amounts of
foot traffic. Avoid parking on an isolated side
street.
• Park in a parking lot that has an attendant.
• Roll up car windows all the way and lock doors.
Police are also asking that anyone who witnesses
a car break-in and/or theft of a vehicle do the
following:
• Call 911.
• When talking to the dispatcher, try to give
as much information as possible, specifically
location of the incident, address, cross streets,
or specific location inside a parking lot.
• Provide as much information as possible, such
as sex, race, age, height, weight, hair color and
length, color and length of facial hair, colors
and style of clothing, identifying marks such as
tattoos or piercings of the suspect.
• Give the direction of travel if the thief flees. If
the thief flees in a vehicle, give the description
of the vehicle and attempt to provide a license
plate.
• Never risk personal safety by trying to stop a
break-in, carjacking, or theft of a vehicle.
For more information, visit https://www.
dekalbcountyga.gov/police-services/welcome.
U/eoe-Social, 2DEKALBCHAMPNEWS
