Feds: Tacoma Grocer Pocketed $600K by Trading Food Benefits for Cash

An owner of a small grocery store in Tacoma, Washington, has been accused of defrauding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Manjit Bedi, of Kent, Washington, pleaded not guilty in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Theresa L. Fricke. Bedi is accused of exchanging food benefits for cash, resulting in more than $600,000 loss to the federal nutrition program

The 64-year-old owner of a small Tacoma market was arraigned this week in U.S. District Court in Tacoma for multiple counts of wire fraud and SNAP benefit fraud, announced First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd.

According to the indictment, Bedi owned and operated a small grocery store in Tacoma. In February 2024, the store was authorized to accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits – formerly known as food stamps. The indictment alleges that beginning in March 2024, Bedi agreed to provide SNAP recipients with cash in exchange for the money loaded on their electronic benefits card (EBT). For example, Bedi would allegedly charge $200 against a recipient’s EBT card, providing $100 in cash to the recipient and keeping the other $100 as profit.

The indictment alleges Bedi pocketed at least $600,000 in SNAP benefits for food items that were never sold.

The owner of a Washington state grocery store was arraigned on multiple counts of wire fraud and SNAP benefit fraud. The indictment alleges that the store owner agreed to provide SNAP recipients with cash in exchange for the money loaded on their electronic benefits card (EBT).…

— USDA OIG (@OIGUSDA) April 23, 2026

The trial is scheduled for June 22, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Tiffany M. Cartwright.

“Every assistance dollar lost to fraud is a dollar that could be feeding hungry children,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd. “This crime steals from taxpayers — including our most needy, cutting the dollars they have for food. We are committed to rooting out such fraud so that federal dollars go to where they are most needed.”

The SNAP program feeds nearly 42 million people, but U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the program is stuffed with fraud. 

The Department of Justice has created the National Fraud Enforcement Division. The core mission of the Fraud Division is to zealously investigate and prosecute those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars.  Department of Justice efforts to combat fraud support President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

Both wire fraud and SNAP benefit fraud are punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The charges contained in the indictment are only allegations. A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General (USDA-OIG), the FBI, and the Washington State Department of Health and Human Services (DSHS).

Assistant United States Attorney Victoria Cantore is prosecuting the case.

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