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Central Coast markets accused of $3.8 million food stamp fraud

December 1, 2020

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

The owner of several butcher shops in the Oxnard area conspired to fraudulently accept more than $3.8 million worth of state and federal food stamps over an approximately three-year period, according to Ventura County prosecutors. [VC Star]

Jose Refugio Carbajal, 54, and Adelina Carbajal, 55, own six butcher shops or markets in the Oxnard area. Two of Carbajal’s six markets were disqualified from the federal SNAP and state CalFresh food stamp programs: The 4 Way Meat Market and Carniceria 4 Caminos, both located in Oxnard.

CalFresh and SNAP provide monthly benefits through debit-style cards that enable recipients to purchase food at authorized grocery stores and farmers markets. After being disqualified from the programs, Carbajal conspired to use point of sale devices, or card reading terminals, that were programmed with special identification numbers belonging to unaffiliated stores in Texas, Santa Ana and Oxnard. The other businesses were unaware Carbajal’s markets were fraudulently using their identification numbers, according to court documents.

The two meat stores fraudulently accepted more than $3.8 million in benefits from approximately July 2016 through Aug. 2019, according to a criminal complaint.

Prosecutors also charged Adelina Carbajal and two Los Angeles women: Karla Orellana, 42, and Antonia Penaloza-Penaloza, 55, regarding the fraud. Orellana allegedly advised Carbajal that a company she worked for, Superior Processing, could supply terminals for the two markets that were booted from the food stamps programs.

In May 2016, Carbajal signed a contract with Superior Processing. Around the same time Orellana instructed Penaloza-Penaloza to search for an unused identification number from another business.

By July 2016, the terminal programmed with fraudulent ID numbers were operational in both of Carbajal’s markets.


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Food stamp fraud has been going on since the program began .There has been plenty of restaurants that bought their supplies with food stamp monies .Back in the 90s there was a local mom and pop grocery store that gave 1/3 cash value for the actual stamps and/or allowed alcohol and cigarettes to be purchased at 1/3 to 1/4 value …I would see the mom and pop store owners at major grocery stores with overflowing grocery carts filled with products to stock their store and payed for it all with paper food stamps .. Then see them unloading overflowing pick up truck into their store…. Most neighborhood people knew about it including myself they never got caught, now retired and sold their store .Then there was the guy in Kentucky at the beginning of this year that had over $5k in food stamp credit on his EBT card ,,, he dropped his receipt someone picked it up and posted it on social media …legislation was started that all EBT money be spent in 45 days and card would be reloaded when zero balance occurred .. You name the GOV program its been frauded from the start


1

Any relationship to the DNA in Congress?


9

Remember Abel Maldonado? He WAS a crook along with his family…the way they ran their farming business and treated their neighbors.


4

If you offer something like this someone will figure a way to rip it off.


7

Are they related to our newly reelected Congressman?


16

Antelope: probably our Carbajal is only related by name heritage, not same family.


But some might say related by level of character?


That’s an unproven swat, I know, but it somehow feels good to tease it.


3

I was just about to comment that this name sounds familiar.


4