From the U.S. Attorney:
CHICAGO MAN SENTENCED TO MORE THAN FOUR YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON FOR FRAUDULENTLY OBTAINING $1.5 MILLION IN SNAP BENEFITS
CHICAGO — A Chicago man has been sentenced to more than four years in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining more than $1.5 million in benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
SNAP is a federal benefit program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to supplement the food budgets of eligible individuals. Retail stores authorized to participate in the program can accept SNAP benefits through EBT cards, also known as Link cards, although it is illegal for stores or individuals to exchange the cards for cash or other items.
From 2018 to 2023, DAVID QUINONES gave cash or other items to SNAP recipients in exchange for access to their Link cards. Quinones used the cards to purchase various goods at authorized retail stores, fraudulently representing himself as the authorized user of the cards. He then re-sold most of the goods, keeping the proceeds for himself. In total, Quinones used more than 1,200 cards and fraudulently caused the USDA to pay out approximately $1,554,804 in SNAP benefits.
Quinones, 45, of Chicago, pleaded guilty last year to a federal wire fraud charge. On March 9, 2026, U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger sentenced Quinones to four years and four months in federal prison and ordered him to pay $1,554,804 in restitution to the government.
The sentence was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Shantel R. Robinson, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General, and Larry Snelling, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Kelly.
