A brazen scheme to defraud the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, valued at a staggering $7 million, has been exposed in Boston’s Mattapan neighborhood. Federal prosecutors recently unsealed an indictment against two individuals, a 74-year-old man and a 21-year-old, accused of turning a vital food assistance program into a personal cash machine.
Antonio Bonheur and Saul Alisme are facing charges of SNAP fraud, accused of illegally trafficking millions in benefits. The program, designed to provide food security for struggling families, was allegedly exploited for personal gain through two small retail storefronts.
Investigators focused on Jesula Variety Store, owned by Bonheur, a space barely 150 square feet in size. Remarkably, this tiny store processed over $6.9 million in SNAP transactions between 2021 and 2025 – a figure that immediately raised red flags.
To understand the scale of the alleged fraud, consider this: comparable grocery stores in the same area averaged $16,000 in monthly SNAP redemptions. Bonheur’s store, however, averaged nearly $300,000 per month, an astonishing disparity.
Further scrutiny revealed that over 70% of transactions at Jesula Variety Store exceeded $150. This was statistically improbable given the store’s almost complete lack of actual food inventory – no shopping carts, no fresh produce, no meat or dairy.
Investigators stated plainly that there was no legitimate way to sell the volume of SNAP-eligible foods reflected in the transaction records. Surveillance footage became a crucial piece of evidence, painting a damning picture of the operation.
Cameras captured customers routinely spending hundreds of dollars, sometimes exceeding $700, on SNAP benefits, only to leave with empty hands or a single, small plastic bag. On a single day in May 2025, dozens of transactions over $100 were recorded, with no corresponding groceries leaving the store.
The evidence suggests SNAP benefits were being exchanged for cash, liquor, and other prohibited items – a clear case of welfare trafficking. The scheme was so audacious that Bonheur allegedly applied for and received SNAP benefits for himself, claiming zero income.
Despite owning a business generating hundreds of thousands of dollars monthly through fraudulent SNAP redemptions, Bonheur falsely reported no income beyond Social Security. He collected over $10,800 in SNAP benefits, using his own EBT card exclusively at his own store.
Alisme, operating Saul Mache Mixe Store, a slightly larger but still minuscule 500 square feet, allegedly ran a similar operation. His store reportedly trafficked over $121,000 in SNAP benefits in just a few months after opening in 2025, despite limited inventory.
Both stores were conveniently located within the same building, suggesting a coordinated effort to exploit the SNAP program. The investigation highlights a calculated and systematic abuse of a system intended to help those in need.
