A former employee of the United States Department of Agriculture has been sentenced to federal prison for her role in a large fraud and bribery conspiracy involving the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), federal authorities said.
According to Sean S. Buckley, acting under power provided by 28 U.S.C. § 515, Arlasa Davis was sentenced to 24 months in prison after pleading guilty to bribery and conspiracy. The sentence was imposed by Jed S. Rakoff.
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According to court documents, Davis exploited her position inside the USDA section in charge of detecting SNAP fraud by selling secret Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) license numbers to co-conspirators. Prosecutors say the fraud resulted in over $66 million in unlawful SNAP transactions.
Investigators discovered that Davis used her personal cellphone to picture handwritten lists of EBT license numbers, which she then channeled through an intermediary who sold the information to criminal groups. These gangs then used the stolen license numbers to illegally obtain EBT terminals for establishments that are not allowed to handle SNAP benefits. Davis accepted payments disguised as “birthday gifts” and “flowers” in correspondence.
“Arlasa Davis exploited her role as a government employee to enrich herself while undermining a program designed to help New York families in need,” Buckley said in an interview. “This conviction and sentence send a clear message that exploitation of funds intended for families will result in serious consequences.”
In addition to the prison term, Davis, 56, of Gardiner, New York, was sentenced to two years of supervised release. She was also ordered to forfeit $48,470 and repay $36 million in restitution.
Buckley credited the USDA Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Inquiry’s New York Field Office with conducting the inquiry. Assistant United States Attorneys Georgia V. Kostopoulos and Joe Zabel led the General Crimes Unit in prosecuting the case.
