The proprietor of a Southern California meals truck was arrested not too long ago for illegally processing an unusually great amount of meals stamp transactions, in response to pictures and a prison grievance obtained by The California Submit.
It comes because the state contends with SNAP fraud estimated to be within the tens of thousands and thousands of {dollars}.
Investigators had been snooping round meals truck Soriano Produce, owned by Esmeralda Soriano, which primarily operates out of Lyon Road in Santa Ana and sells fruit and produce on a “low quantity.”
It began accepting SNAP and EBT advantages in Could 2023, in response to the grievance.
By way of undercover operations and surveillance, an officer found that the truck had a countertop checkout space that had meals and non-food gadgets. One can use SNAP to buy meals gadgets, however non-food gadgets equivalent to houseware and toiletry are ineligible.
Dwight Llewellyn, an agent for Homeland Safety Investigations, stated the meals truck had one system to course of all meals stamp transactions, however the document of transactions appeared sketchy.
“Primarily based on my coaching and expertise, the shortage of scanners, coupled with constant excessive greenback transactions, and speedy back-to-back transactions, are indicators of doable fraud,” he stated within the grievance.
The quantity of SNAP cash redeemed by Soriano in comparison with different close by, related distributors was additionally suspiciously massive, the grievance stated. Soriano Produce has one register, a mean buy quantity of $151.41, and retailer greenback quantity totaling $640,924.
Then again, three different distributors close by had a mean buy quantity of under $55 and totals lower than $100,000 from April 2025 to April 2026.
The truth is, Soriano made extra EBT cash than full-blown supermarkets and grocery shops, the grievance calculated.
In Could of this 12 months, undercover officers had been in a position to commerce $100 in SNAP for $50 in money, they stated. Soriano reportedly advised the officer, “When you come again, don’t ask my husband as a result of he wouldn’t do it.”
Undercover brokers once more approached Soriano later within the month, who charged the EBT card $172 and gave the officer $80 in money.
Pictures shared with The Submit present a Homeland Safety agent exterior of a white meals truck that gave the impression to be in operation when the arrest occurred. Some gadgets on sale included luggage of chips and different snacks.
Her alleged violation carries extreme federal penalties, together with as much as 20 years in jail and fines as much as $250,000.
The newest bust comes only a week after federal brokers cracked down on one other alleged SNAP fraud ring in Los Angeles, arresting a cashier accused of pocketing kickbacks from welfare recipients in trade for faux purchases. Armored federal brokers, backed by uniformed LAPD officers, descended on Escamex Social gathering Provides in Skid Row through the raid.
The operation was considered one of at the least 4 carried out throughout California final week by the US Division of Agriculture’s Workplace of Inspector Normal and Homeland Safety Investigations as a part of a sweeping crackdown on retailers accused of meals stamp fraud.
California operates the nation’s largest SNAP program, distributing roughly $12.5 billion in advantages every year. About 11% of these funds are issued in error — most actually because recipients present false or incomplete family info or attributable to administrative errors, in response to the California Legislature’s nonpartisan fiscal and coverage advisor.
“These applications are administered by the state, and the state haven’t executed a adequate job to weed out the fraudsters,” Los Angeles’ prime federal prosecutor Invoice Essayli had advised The Submit.
The USDA additionally not too long ago issued violation notices to 33 SNAP-authorized retailers throughout town for the unlawful trade of SNAP advantages for money and the sale of prohibited gadgets equivalent to alcohol and tobacco.
