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Harrisburg, Pa. \u2014 Eleven Philadelphia-area business owners are accused of forging invoices in a scheme that cost Pennsylvania\u2019s WIC program nearly $1 million, the state attorney general\u2019s office said.<\/p>\n
Attorney General Dave Sunday announced charges of theft by deception, forgery and tampering with public records against the owners of grocery and convenience stores, according to the release. Nine of the 11 were taken into custody and arraigned Sept. 30.<\/p>\n
Those charged are Margarita Collado, Musa Berry, Amaury Gomez, Felix Sosa, Fransico Garcia, Patxi De La Cruz, Raquel De La Cruz, Johanna Luciano-Valera and Ramon Fernandez, according to the release. Two others were not identified because they are not in custody. The AG’s office did not give the accused’s ages or hometowns.<\/p>\n
The defendants and their businesses were approved vendors in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, which the state Department of Health administers, when they submitted claims between 2021 and 2025 that investigators said were false.<\/p>\n
WIC vendors are required to submit invoices from approved distributors for purchases of food and infant formula, which they then provide to WIC recipients at their stores, according to the release.<\/p>\n
Agents with the attorney general\u2019s office inspected thousands of receipts and performed audits that they said revealed paperwork was forged and fabricated. In all, agents identified just under 10,000 reimbursement requests they said were fraudulent, and just under 9,000 of them were paid, resulting in $985,000 in losses to the state, the office said.<\/p>\n
The defendants submitted more than $1 million in reimbursement requests in total and received just under $1 million, according to the release.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese business owners, for years, intentionally defrauded a state program designed to promote wellness for mothers and their children,\u201d Sunday said. \u201cThis type of criminal activity doesn\u2019t just victimize taxpayers by defrauding the government, it hurts the women and children who rely on the services programs like WIC provide.\u201d<\/p>\n
The largest totals the office listed were $342,183 for El Paisano Express Food, owned by Sosa, and $226,557 for Uncle Musa Grocery. Other businesses named in the release are Compare & Save Supermarket, Carmen Grocery Inc., Kendra Mini Market, Liberty Mini Market Inc., Tioga Food Market 1 Inc. and Garcia Super Deli Market.<\/p>\n
Deputy Attorney General Andrew Biggins will prosecute the cases.<\/p>\n
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