A Chicago grocery store owner has been sentenced to three and a half years in federal prison for defrauding federal food assistance programs out of millions.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, 50-year-old Yousef Abu Alhawa, from Lockport, Illinois, ran a long-running scheme to cheat the SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) programs while operating Olive Mount Mart in the city’s Chicago Lawn neighborhood.
Federal prosecutors say that from 2011 to 2019, Alhawa illegally exchanged SNAP and WIC benefits for cash and ineligible items like alcohol and cigarettes — things strictly prohibited under the programs. He also reportedly used the benefits to make redemptions for other unauthorized stores, pocketing millions in the process.
Alhawa pleaded guilty to wire fraud and tax charges earlier this year. In August 2025, a federal judge sentenced him to 42 months in prison and ordered him to pay $8.9 million in restitution.
The scheme didn’t stop at food assistance fraud — investigators say he also filed false income tax returns between 2015 and 2017, costing the government more than $610,000 in tax losses.
“This wasn’t just bending the rules — it was straight-up stealing from programs meant to help low-income families,” one official said in court documents.
Fast Facts
Defendant: Yousef Abu Alhawa, 50, of Lockport, IL Business: Olive Mount Mart, Chicago Lawn neighborhood Scheme Duration: 2011–2019 Charges: Wire fraud, false tax filings Sentence: 3½ years (42 months) in federal prison Restitution Ordered: ~$8.9 million Tax Loss: ~$610,000
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Illinois
