By MARK SULEYMANOV
A Manhattan deli owner who allegedly sold synthetic marijuana in exchange for food stamps was arrested on Thursday, federal authorities said.
Yousif Mosleh, 26, is the owner of a deli on Lexington Avenue between 124th and 125th Street in East Harlem, and another nearby deli, according to court documents. He allegedly sold K2, a synthetic marijuana, under names such as Avalanche, Xtreme, Kisha Cole, AK-47, and Phantom while accepting Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits as payment.
Two “cooperating sources” helped the United States Drug Administration (USDA) by making a series of controlled purchases of K2 from both of Mosleh’s delis. On July 23, 2015, police retrieved approximately 1,000 packages of K2 from one of the delis; on July 30, 2015, while police apprehended Mosleh “on charges unrelated to this investigation,” an additional 1,396 packages of K2 were retrieved.
“Yousif Mosleh is charged with peddling dangerous synthetic drugs in New York City neighborhoods and funding his drug sales by abusing a system created to assist the most vulnerable in our society. Thanks to the dedicated agents of the USDA and HSI, Mosleh can no longer profit from this illegal scheme,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement.
Mosleh received a license to accept and redeem SNAP benefits for the first deli in December 2007. The second deli received a license on June 23, 2014, which included a notification that SNAP benefits may not be exchanged for ineligible items.
“The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program was created to provide food and nutrition to those who truly need this assistance,” Special Agent-in-Charge William G. Squires Jr. said. “Those who are involved in fraud and abuse of SNAP and other USDA programs will be aggressively pursued by our office.”
A friend of Mosleh who was present for the case declined to give his name but told Brooklyn News Service – while pacing around the fifth floor of the Southern District Courthouse at 500 Pearl Street – that he was waiting to speak to an attorney to find out more details.
“I promised him [Mosleh] that I would be here, I don’t know anything about the case,” he said. “But I was the one who told him to turn himself in.”
Mosleh faces a maximum of 45 years in prison. He’s being charged with two counts of distribution and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance – both counts coming with a 20-year maximum sentence – and one count of conspiracy to violate the regulations governing the food stamp program – which comes with a maximum of five years.
Photo of U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara
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