About The champion newspaper. (Decatur, GA) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (March 28, 2024)
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
