Food stamp fraud leads to raid of Davie gas station

Police: Store owner bought food stamp cards at half value, bought goods to resell

DAVIE, Fla. – Police raided a Davie gas station Thursday in connection with a food stamp fraud investigation.

Davie police said the raid at a Sunoco station on Davie Road, just north of Griffin Road, was the culmination of a year-long investigation into food stamp fraud.

Capt. Dale Engle said store owner Mohamed Belim, 37, was buying food stamp debit cards at 50 percent of the value for cash, allowing customers to buy prohibited items like alcohol or cigarettes.

"He takes that card and then he goes shopping and he buys things that you can purchase with the card like bread and food items," Engle said. "Then he brings those items back to the store and sells them at a profit."

Engle said Belim was also selling synthetic marijuana and contact lenses without a license.

"We were able to track that some of this money is going back to the Middle East," Engle said.

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