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Convenience store owner, originally from Haiti, trafficked nearly $7 M in food stamp benefits

April 2, 2026 | | Print Article

The elderly owner of a small convenience store in Boston pleaded guilty to charges of a multi-million-dollar food stamp fraud scheme.

Millions of dollars’ worth of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits were fraudulently obtained by Antonio Bonheur, 74, of Mattapan, according to a Justice Department press release.

“The defendant’s monthly SNAP redemptions in his 150 square foot store ranged from $100,000 – $500,000 per month, far outpacing full-service supermarkets, which redeem approximately $82,000 per month in SNAP benefits,” the release stated, adding that the Jesula Variety Store’s owner also allegedly “sold liquor and emergency food supplies intended for food-insecure children overseas.”

Bonheur, who was arrested in December, pleaded guilty this week to one count of food stamp fraud and one count of wire fraud. As part of Monday’s plea before U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani, Bonheur “agreed to forfeit nearly $400,000 in fraudulently obtained proceeds that were seized during the investigation.”

“According to the charging documents, despite the store’s limited size, inventory and food offerings, Jesula Variety Store exhibited extraordinarily high SNAP redemption volumes, far beyond what could reasonably be supported by legitimate food sales. Transaction data revealed that the store had exceptionally large and anomalous average monthly SNAP redemption rates when compared to similarly situated businesses of the same size, type and location,” the DOJ press release explained.


“During undercover operations conducted over the course of the investigation, SNAP benefits were trafficked for cash from the Jesula Variety Store on four occasions. In each instance, the defendant worked the cash registers and personally exchanged SNAP benefits for cash. Bonheur also sold liquor in exchange for SNAP benefits,” the release continued.

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Bonheur, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Haiti, allegedly sold donated meals from the nonprofit Feed My Starving Children in his store for about $8 per package and he “made multiple false statements concerning his income and assets,” securing a SNAP card for himself issued by the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance.

“Jesula Variety Store carried little legitimate food inventory and generated minimal lawful revenue, therefore Bonheur relied almost entirely on USDA-funded SNAP redemptions as his source of income,” the press release noted.

Social media users angrily reacted to the fraud allegations.

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Frieda Powers
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