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Anton Goubrial of Tampa pleaded guilty in federal court this week to committing food stamp fraud and wire fraud. Goubrial owns Watson’s Food Store in St. Petersburg, where prosecutors alleged that he defrauded the government out of well over $100,000 by giving customers cash for their food stamps. This is the second recent food stamp fraud case in Tampa Bay area news.
Goubrial and his federal criminal defense attorney were able to reach a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s office. Ten counts pending against Goubrial were dismissed and he pleaded guilty to two felonies: wire fraud and food stamp fraud.
Wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison with a fine of up to $250,000. Food stamp fraud is punishable by up to 5 years in prison with a fine of up to $250,000. Goubrial will be ordered to pay restitution to the federal government.
In exchange for his agreement to plead guilty to these two felonies, the government has agreed not to charge Goubrial with any additional related crimes. Prosecutors will also recommend that he be sentenced under a downward departure from the federal sentencing guidelines – giving him credit for accepting responsibility for his crimes.
Food stamps are legally exchanged only for eligible food items or seeds to grow food. Goubrial instead paid cash (usually a fraction of the face value) for the food stamps. For example, he would ring up a fake food sale for $200 and give his customer $100 cash in return. Goubrial would then redeemed the food stamps for payment from the U.S. government (netting $100 fraudulent profit in this example).
The case was investigated by the United States Secret Service, which historically enforces federal currency and financial laws. Sentencing is scheduled to take place in June.