Sean S. Buckley, Attorney for the United States, Acting under Authority Conferred by 28 U.S.C. § 515, has announced that Arlasa Davis was sentenced to 24 months in prison for her role in a sprawling fraud and bribery scheme that generated over $66 million in unauthorised transactions under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, colloquially known as food stamps.
Davis, a longtime employee of the United States Department of Agriculture, abused her position within the division responsible for identifying SNAP fraud to sell confidential government information to criminals.
Davis previously pled guilty to bribery and conspiracy to commit bribery before U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff, who imposed Monday’s sentence.
According to the Indictment and statements made in public court proceedings and filings, DAVIS worked within the USDA division responsible for identifying SNAP fraud.
She abused her privileged access to federal systems to sell hundreds of Electronic Benefits Transfer license numbers to co-conspirators.
Davis photographed handwritten lists of licence numbers intended for qualifying stores with her personal cellphone.
She funnelled them to an intermediary who sold them to co-conspirators, who in turn used those license numbers to fraudulently obtain EBT terminals for stores that the USDA did not authorise to process SNAP transactions.
In return, DAVIS received substantial bribes disguised in communications, including, among other things, “birthday gifts” and “flowers”.
In addition to her prison term, Davis, 56, of Gardiner, New York, was sentenced to two years of supervised release.
Davis was also ordered to forfeit $48,470 and pay restitution of $36 million.
