A pair of Haitian immigrants is accused of carrying out a multi‑million‑dollar food stamp fraud scheme in Boston, Massachusetts, including defrauding a nonprofit food program meant to feed starving children in their native country.
Late last month, the Department of Justice announced food stamp fraud charges against 74‑year‑old Antonio Bonheur, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Haiti, and 21‑year‑old Saul Alisme, a legal immigrant from Haiti who was issued a Social Security card in November 2024.
According to an indictment, Bonheur owned Jesula Variety Store, and Alisme owned Saul Mache Mixe Store — both of which accepted food stamps. Investigators started probing the small Boston stores after they began redeeming unusually large sums of food stamp benefits.
The indictment alleges that the duo trafficked millions in food stamp benefits over a relatively short period. Prosecutors noted that both stores conducted numerous transactions exceeding $95 in a day and hundreds per month, totaling more than $300,000 monthly for Jesula Variety Store and over $30,000 per month for Saul Mache Mixe Store.
Investigators observed that it would have been extremely difficult for either store to legitimately conduct transactions at those levels. Both lacked basic equipment such as shopping carts, handbaskets, and optical scanners for reading barcodes, and stock very limited quantities of food eligible for SNAP purchases.
The indictment states that Antonio Bonheur, through Jesula Variety Store, trafficked SNAP benefits valued at more than $6,000,000 over more than three years. Saul Alisme, through Saul Mache Mixe Store, is believed to have trafficked over $121,890 in SNAP benefits since May 2025. Both stores are located in the same building at 1549 Blue Hill Avenue in Mattapan, Massachusetts.
In addition to the alleged food stamp fraud, prosecutors say the Haitian immigrants illegally sold processed food packages produced by the nonprofit Feed My Starving Children, which were meant to be donated to food‑insecure countries like Haiti, not sold for profit. The indictment alleges the defendants obtained these donated food packages after they had been shipped to receiving countries and brought them back to the U.S. for resale.
If convicted on the food stamp fraud charges, Bonheur and Alisme each face up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and fines of up to $250,000.
