A resident of Massachusetts who is nationally involved in combating SNAP fraud claims that the state’s “lenient safeguards” allowed analleged operationwhich secured almost $7 million in advantages from small retail locations in Boston.
Haywood Talcove, a resident of Danvers who leads the government division at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, has joined the Secret Service during raids that have dismantled scams exploiting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). In these enforcement efforts, he has encountered operations that he describes as similar to theone uncovered in Mattapan before the New Year.
“What you witnessed in Massachusetts is occurring in real-time throughout the country with those convenience stores,” Talcove told the Herald following the federal announcement.pair of arrestsin reference to the claimed “criminal enterprise” on Blue Hill Avenue.
Talcove has visited San Diego, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Miami with the Secret Service during the last two years, aiming to combat SNAP fraud. Most of the fraudulent activity, he mentioned, takes place in small bodegas, like the two stores that together measure only 650 square feet.
Inside a specific Los Angeles business, Talcove remembered, there was a “bag of cocaine and money,” with no food available. The raid revealed how the store owner obtained SNAP benefits, he mentioned.
Talcove mentioned that the owner probably informed friends and family on how to obtain EBT cards, and after acquiring them, they would visit the store to get cocaine or cash.
If you were a USDA inspector and walked in, unless you were visually impaired,” Talcove said, “you would understand this wasn’t actually a store.
Last April, Talcove went to Las Vegas along with the Secret Service for a payment card skimming fraud operation. During this operation, officials took out four skimming devices, stopping a possible loss of approximately $1.3 million.
Talcove described how one of the deceptive businesses was situated close to a homeless camp, with all the items in the store having expired dates, including Raisin Bran that had expired in 2022 but was being sold for $11.
They were letting people exchange their EBT cards for beer and cash,” Talcove stated. “There was no justification for this bodega, this convenience store, being able to resell EBT.
In the last year, Talcove has appeared before Congress on two occasions. During each testimony given in February, the native of Massachusetts revealed the “extent and complexity of fraud aimed at government programs.”
Transnational fraud rings, terrorist groups, and local criminal networks, he stated, have “gone beyond pandemic relief” and are now focusing on “essential social programs using similar methods — utilizing stolen identities, synthetic identities, and insider cooperation.”
Talcove has concentrated on individuals he refers to as “first-person fraudsters,” people he claims frequently exaggerate their lost earnings, neglect to reveal job status, or falsely present qualification information.
He mentions a second group of individuals as “possibly more dangerous,” referring to them as the “insider threat.” These situations “include government workers responsible for managing these programs who misuse their roles to support fraudulent activities,” he stated before Congress on February 6, 2025.
As Head of LexisNexis Risk Solutions for Government, Talcove spearheads initiatives aimed at “preventing fraud, improving government services, and safeguarding taxpayer funds.” His group released a report last September, revealing that the average monthly rate of applications and post-issuance cases identified as SNAP fraud has doubled since 2024.
This has led to a “significant rise in fraud expenses,” according to the report. “For every $1 worth of benefits lost due to fraud, it actually costs SNAP agencies $4.14, an increase from $3.93 in 2024,” it noted.
Talcove claimed that the growing SNAP fraud is a result of inaction from both state and federal authorities.
Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Leah Foley held the state Department of Transition Assistance responsible for not stopping the alleged SNAP fraud in Mattapan, while Governor Maura Healey stated her administration had informed federal authorities about the “suspicious activity.”
Antonio Bonheur, 74, a U.S. citizen by naturalization from Haiti who lives in Mattapan, and Saul Alisme, 21, a Haitian national living in Hyde Park, are each charged with one count of food stamp fraud related to the scheme.
The defendants’ monthly SNAP transactions are said to have varied between $100,000 and $500,000 each month, according to federal authorities, who claim this figure exceeds that of “full-service supermarkets.”
Bonheur and Alisme are said to have managed the operation from Jesula Variety Store and Saul Mache Mixe Store, which they operated as small general stores within one shared street-facing location.
Jesula Variety Store, reportedly owned by Bonheur in Mattapan, started taking SNAP benefits in September 2021, as stated in the charges. The individual is charged with filing a false application for SNAP benefits, which he began receiving in 2022. He allegedly stated he had no income but did not disclose his ownership of the store.
Prosecutors claim that Bonheur and Alisme “operated the cash registers and directly traded SNAP benefits for cash.”
In reply, the office of Gov. Healey stated that the DTA informed the USDA on November 1, 2024, of “suspicious transactions” occurring at Bonheur’s store. The governor’s office also highlighted that the USDA “oversees the review and approval of the retailer’s application and enforces actions against reported fraud or suspicious activities.”
Talcove informed the Herald that Massachusetts “does not adhere to best practices” when it comes to confirming information provided by SNAP applicants to “third parties,” as the state employs a rules-based verification process to ensure applications are completed properly but does not go further.
That implies “self-reported information is never questioned,” Talcove stated. He mentioned that the state does not cross-check SNAP recipient data with the backgrounds of bodega owners, a group he estimates has 10% also receiving food assistance.
On the other hand, Talcove stated, the USDA has allocated less than 1% to SNAP program integrity, resulting in widespread fraud.
He also highlights the federal government’s delay in fully implementing the so-called “National Accuracy Clearinghouse,” a pilot initiative that has uncovered “more than 14 million instances of duplicate enrollment in Medicaid, SNAP,” and additional programs.
If the USDA could boost its funding for retail integrity program operations,” Talcove stated, “and the state genuinely verified the information provided by applicants, there might be $18 billion available for those in need of food assistance or to be returned to taxpayers, or a mix of both. It’s unacceptable.
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