LYNCHBURG, Va. – The owner of Taste of India, a grocery store in Lynchburg, was arrested on criminal charges related to his alleged fraud regarding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), according to the U.S. DOJ.
In a criminal complaint Tuesday, 59-year-old Rajan Babbar, was charged with food stamp and wire fraud. Babbar was arrested without incident.
According to court documents, in 2016 Babbar filed paperwork with the USDA and Food Nutrition Services for Taste of India to become a SNAP retailer, and in December of that year, Babbar’s application was approved by the FNS.
In 2018, FNS noticed that Taste of India had some unusual activity with its food stamp redemptions, subsequently, the FNS placed the store on its “Watch List” to monitor further activities.
Scrutiny of the store led to a civil investigation and penalty in 2020. 10 News has learned, that on four out of five separate encounters between March 2019 and Feb. 2020, undercover investigators with FNS made unauthorized purchases of ineligible items using SNAP EBT cards.
Based on those encounters FNS determined that Taste of India was in violation of program rules, Babbar ultimately paid a $1.932 civil penalty in lieu of a six-month disqualification from the program. However, he was still allowed to operate as a SNAP retailer.
According to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday, USDA-OIG agents began to review the food stamp redemptions for the store and noticed redemptions seemed unusually high for the type of store and location.
According to the complaint, the dollar amount of SNAP redemptions skyrocketed at the store during a relatively short span. in January of 2018, the store had completed $2,500 in monthly SNAP transactions. That figure was more than $30,000 in May of 2021, by February of 2023 Taste of India was redeeming more than $104,000 in SNAP funds.
10 News has learned that the USDA-OIG in partnership with the FBI and the LPD proceeded to conduct undercover operations at the Taste of India in the spring of 2023.
On three separate occasions, an undercover source went into the Taste of India and another store owned by Babbar and attempted to exchange SNAP benefits for cash. According to the DOJ, Babbar agreed on all three occasions and provided cash to the source.
The USDA-OIG, FBI, and Lynchburg Police are continuing to investigate the case.