A Lynchburg store owner has been indicted on charges of federal food stamp and wire fraud. The indictment was returned by a federal grand jury in Charlottesville against Rajan Babbar, 59, the owner of Taste of India, a grocery store in Lynchburg.
Babbar is accused of defrauding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), previously known as the Food Stamp Program. SNAP aims to help low- and middle-income families improve their food purchasing power.
The charges against Babbar include one count of SNAP benefits fraud, three counts of wire fraud, and four counts related to transacting in criminally derived property.
According to the indictment, Babbar filed paperwork with the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) in 2016 for his store to become a SNAP retailer. His application was approved in December 2016.
From April 2021 onwards, it is alleged that SNAP sales at Taste of India significantly increased. Between 2018 and 2020, average monthly SNAP sales were about $5,324. In contrast, during 2021 and 2022, they rose to approximately $53,147 per month. In 2023 and 2024, this figure further increased to around $60,385 per month.
The indictment claims that Babbar allowed individuals to exchange their SNAP benefits for cash by processing false transactions for non-existent items and then giving cash worth half the value of these benefits.
In addition to the eight criminal counts against him, there is also a notice seeking forfeiture of approximately $383,232 along with commercial real estate property in Lynchburg.
United States Attorney C. Todd Gilbert stated that Charmeka Parker from USDA-OIG and Stephen Farina from FBI’s Richmond Division are involved in this case’s investigation alongside the Lynchburg Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee Brett will be prosecuting this case.
It should be noted that an indictment is merely an allegation; all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
