Store owner arrested for using food stamps to stock shelves

A convenience store owner in Daytona Beach, Fla.was arrested Monday for running a food stamp scam, using tax dollars to stock his shelves.

Bassam Abu Diab and his son Matthew were buying food stamp cards for 20 to 40 cents on the dollar and using them to shop at Walmart and Save-A-Lot stores for items they sold in their convenience store, police said, according the Daytona Beach News-Journal.

An undercover agent sold EBT cards to Abu Diab, which he used to purchase items at other stores and then paid the agent less than half the value of the cards. Federal, state and local officers raided the Abu Diabs’ 4M Food Mart after a 3-month investigation.

“This guy is running a business on the taxpayers back,” said Daytona Beach Police Chief Michael Chitwood, according to local tv station WFTV Channel 9. “It’s a fraud. He’s unscrupulous and clearly he didn’t learn from the last time we hit the store.” Read more >>

Florida considering tattoo database

Jail officials in Florida are considering creating a database of inmate tattoos that could be used to help investigators who are searching for unidentified suspects in area crimes.

Capt. W.F. McClelland says the database is in the early planning stages.

McClelland says officials are consulting with county attorneys to set a policy. They're deciding on issues such as whether to catalog all of an inmate's tattoos or only the visible ones. And they're not sure whether to include photographs or simply a written description of the tattoos.

Once the procedures have been determined, officials say two jail lieutenants will be in charge of carrying out the plan.

Officials will be working with the Daytona Beach police, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office and other local agencies.

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