Blog

Dec 04, 2023

Michigan AG charges 3 from Detroit in $4M interstate food stamp fraud scheme

Kayla Clarke, Senior Web Producer DETROIT – Three additional people are facing charges for their alleged part in an interstate food stamp fraud scheme that stole around $4 million. The people involved

Kayla Clarke, Senior Web Producer

DETROIT – Three additional people are facing charges for their alleged part in an interstate food stamp fraud scheme that stole around $4 million.

The people involved in the scheme are accused of illegally obtaining electronic benefit (EBT) card data from 8,000 cardholders, most of which lived in California. Prosecutors said they reproduced EBT cards in Michigan with the data and used the cards to make fraudulent purchases from Sam’s Club stores in Metro Detroit.

On Wednesday, May 24, search warrants were executed on eight locations in Metro Detroit. Three people were arrested and arraigned on felony charges for their connection to the scheme. They were identified as Travis Newby, 39, Detroit, Derriun Williams, 23, Detroit, and Vanessa Williams, 47, Highland Park.

On Friday, Aug. 18, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced charges against three additional people:

The investigation began as a joint endeavor between the MDHHS Office of Inspector General and Sam’s Club Global Security division before the investigation was handed off to the Attorney General’s ‘FORCE’ Team and Walmart corporate security officials.

Michigan’s ORC Unit and ‘FORCE’ Team are working with seven other retailers on multiple open investigations. Each of those investigations is centered around millions of dollars of retail fraud and theft.

“Highly orchestrated organized retail crime costs Michigan businesses and consumers millions of dollars each year,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said. “I am proud of the continued efforts of my department’s ORC Unit and the ‘FORCE’ Team and the various law enforcement agencies to make sure all the perpetrators in this case are brought to justice.”

Anyone with any information is asked to email the ‘FORCE’ Team.

Copyright 2023 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved.