Nael Jabbar, a 47-year-old resident of Franklin, Wisconsin, pled guilty on April 14 to one count of wire fraud and one count of filing a false tax return, according to an announcement by Brad D. Schimel, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
Jabbar’s plea relates to fraudulent activities conducted through his Milwaukee business, Hot Spot Super Market. The store was authorized to accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Between 2021 and 2024, Jabbar exchanged SNAP benefits for cash by giving recipients half the value in cash while billing the program for the full amount. Prosecutors plan to argue at sentencing that this scheme resulted in losses exceeding $1.6 million.
In addition to defrauding SNAP, Jabbar admitted that he filed individual income tax returns from 2020 through 2022 that did not include all his income. During these years, he transferred about $611,000 from business accounts into personal accounts and used those funds for personal expenses such as travel and retail purchases. This conduct caused a total tax loss of more than $87,000.
Jabbar is scheduled for sentencing on July 28 at 9:00 a.m., where he faces up to twenty years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the wire fraud charge as well as three years in prison and another $250,000 fine on the false tax return charge. He may also receive supervised release after serving any sentence.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General and IRS Criminal Investigation division; it is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John P. Scully.
The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin contributes to community safety across Eastern Wisconsin through public service efforts according to its official website. The office is part of the U.S. Department of Justice according to its official website and ensures public safety while delivering impartial justice in Eastern Wisconsin according to its official website. It serves Eastern Wisconsin according to its official website, working alongside federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners according to its official website. As a federal prosecutorial entity according to its official website, it handles federal prosecutions with offices located in Milwaukee and Green Bay according to its official website.
