Charges: Clerks at West Valley convenience store defrauded food stamps program

Charges: Clerks at West Valley convenience store defrauded food stamps program

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WEST VALLEY CITY — Two South Jordan men were charged this week for allegedly colluding with customers at a West Valley convenience store to complete fraudulent transactions under the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Arshi Singh, 57, and Gurminder Bhatia, 32, each were charged Thursday in 3rd District Court with carrying out a pattern of unlawful activity and two counts of tax evasion, all second-degree felonies, as well as 14 counts of public assistance fraud and two counts of failure to render a proper tax return, all third-degree felonies.

Singh and Bhatia are accused of working with some customers to exploit the federal food assistance program, commonly known as SNAP, in their roles as employees at Village Food Mart, 1238 W. Village Main Drive. The fraud dates back to at least early 2015, charges state.

Court documents allege Singh and Bhatia accepted amounts from the federally funded SNAP cards that were higher than any actual purchase being made and then compensate the involved customers with a somewhat lower amount in cash, leaving both parties with a fraudulent profit from the transaction.

Undercover Unified police officers were able to to confirm this pattern by making purchases at the store at least 13 times between July and October 2015, according to court documents.

The Utah Attorney General's Office, U.S. Department of Agriculture and Utah Department of Workforce Services first detected possible fraud at Village Food Mart because SNAP transactions at the store were unusually large and frequent, charges state.

Court documents also allege that Singh and Bhatia are criminally responsible for the under-reporting of the convenience store's taxable sales to the Utah State Tax Commission since April 2014.

A summons was issued for both men Thursday, requiring them to make their first court appearance Sept. 22. Neither man has been arrested in connection with the case.

Bhatia pleaded guilty to DUI in June 2015, according to court records. He was also charged with DUI and driving on a denied license on July 5 of this year. That case is ongoing.

Singh's prior criminal history in Utah is limited to minor traffic offenses, court records show.

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Ben Lockhart

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