Lansing convenience store operator indicted on federal SNAP fraud charges, accused of trading cash for benefits at 50 cents on the dollar

LANSING, Mich. — A Lansing man who runs a convenience store has been indicted on federal charges that he traded cash for food-assistance benefits and let customers pay off store debts with them, part of what the Justice Department called a nationwide crackdown on fraud in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

A federal grand jury charged Mohinder Singh, the operator of Romario’s convenience store in Lansing, with one count of theft or conversion of public money and nine counts of SNAP benefits fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan announced Wednesday. The government alleges Singh intended more than $1 million in losses to the government.

What the indictment alleges. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the indictment says Singh exchanged cash and other items that SNAP can’t be used for in return for customers’ benefits, typically giving 50 cents in cash for every $1 of benefits run through the store. It also alleges he let some customers use benefits to pay debts they owed him, and charged a fee, payable in benefits, when he extended them credit.

The charges are accusations. Singh is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison on the theft charge and up to five years on each SNAP fraud count, prosecutors said. The USDA Office of Inspector General is investigating, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris O’Connor is prosecuting.

Part of a national sweep. The Lansing case was one of actions against more than 40 defendants announced together by the Justice Department’s fraud division, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and USDA’s inspector general. Officials said the schemes involved nearly $45 million in intended losses, about $42 million of it in SNAP benefits.

“These schemes siphoned millions from taxpayers and robbed struggling Americans of the benefits they depend on so fraudsters could use them for own selfish purposes,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said in the release. U.S. Attorney Timothy VerHey said his office “remains committed to pursuing those who exploit this program and ensuring taxpayer funds are protected.”

What this means for you. SNAP benefits, which Michigan delivers on the Bridge Card, are paid for by federal taxpayers and may be spent only on eligible food at authorized retailers. Selling benefits for cash, a practice the USDA calls trafficking, is illegal for the store and the shopper alike, and a store caught doing it can be permanently barred from the program. Anyone who sees a store buying or selling benefits can report it confidentially to the USDA Office of Inspector General hotline.

For more Lansing-area news, see our Lansing page.

Sources:
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Michigan, “U.S. Attorney’s Office Joins DOJ Fraud Division and USDA in Uncovering Nearly $42 Million in SNAP Benefit Fraud in Nationwide Enforcement Surge,” Oct. 21, 2026 (charges, allegations, penalties, quotes), https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdmi/pr/2026_102312_Singh_Charging_PR
WILX News 10, “Feds accuse Lansing store owner of exchanging cash for SNAP benefits,” Oct. 21, 2026, https://www.wilx.com/2026/10/21/lansing-store-operator-charged-nationwide-snap-fraud-surge/
7 CFR 278.6, disqualification of retail food stores for trafficking, https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-7/subtitle-B/chapter-II/subchapter-C/part-278/section-278.6
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, food assistance (Bridge Card), https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/assistance-programs/food
USDA Office of Inspector General, hotline, https://usdaoig.oversight.gov/hotline
Photo: Warren LeMay, “Charles E. Chamberlain Federal Building and Post Office, Allegan Street and Walnut Street, Lansing, MI - 54382248052.jpg,” Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped and color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Charles_E._Chamberlain_Federal_Building_and_Post_Office,_Allegan_Street_and_Walnut_Street,_Lansing,_MI_-_54382248052.jpg

Lansing

Tags: Lansing · SNAP · Fraud · Taxpayers · U.S. Attorney · Small Business