Man arrested for food stamp fraud found dead

They used food stamps to buy a dozen cans of Michelob Light, three packs of Marlboro Lights and two Magnum condoms.

All of which is illegal.

Those doing the buying, though, were undercover officers participating in a statewide operation to combat food stamp fraud. The 10-week Florida Department of Law Enforcement operation resulted in the arrest of 21 store owners and clerks across Florida, including six in the Tampa Bay area.

The businesses were trafficking in taxpayer money, said Jim Madden, special agent in charge of FDLE's Tampa Bay Regional Operations Center.

"These stores that we targeted veer away from the purpose of the program," he said at a press conference today.

Operation Cash Exchange was aimed at retailers who illegally profited from Electronic Benefit Transfer cards, which are the modern way in which food stamps are used.

One man who was arrested Wednesday night and charged with two counts of food stamp fraud of $200 or more was found dead this morning, FDLE said.

Curtis Raymond Walker, who worked at Big Daddy's Quick E Drive By in Tampa, was found at his home, 5229 S. MacDill Ave. just before 8 a.m. by a co-worker. The co-worker last saw Walker, 50, at 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, police said.

There were no signs of foul play and no signs of forced entry into Walker's home, police said. The Hillsborough County Medical Examiner's Office will determine the cause of death, said Andrea Davis, a police spokeswoman.

FDLE officials targeted 30 stores statewide they believed were misusing the system to profit from Electronic Benefit Transfer sales. The department made arrests at half those stores.

During the operation, undercover officers would visit a retailer - typically a gas station, convenience store or grocery store - and use the food stamp debit card to either get cash back or to buy prohibited items like alcohol or cigarettes. One Tampa business even sold an undercover investigator Tampa Bay Buccaneers T-shirts.

The food stamp program is overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The department estimated the 15 stores where arrests were made were responsible for $3.5 million in food stamp fraud in the last year.

It's likely many other stores statewide also abuse the program, FDLE Assistant Commissioner Ken Tucker said.

Investigators say four area businesses were involved in the fraud, including Big Daddy's Quick E Drive By in Tampa: Hawkins and Bell's Grocery in Tampa, Checkers Mini Mart in Port Richey and MZ Food Store in Tampa.

Wayne R. Stumbo, 46, of Tampa, was charged with trafficking in illegal drugs, possession of marijuana and food stamp fraud.

Including Walker, five were charged with food stamp fraud, a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison: Tabitha Z. Wood, 34, of Tampa; Teoman Markal, 46, of Port Richey; Tracy Lamar Burr, 22, of Tampa; and Mohammad Ali Abukhder, 33, of Tampa.

The 15 businesses also might be suspended from the food stamp program, Madden said.

Investigators said they soon will move into a second phase of their operation: targeting food stamp recipients who abuse the program.

"Both the retailers and the recipients of this fraud ... they know what they are doing is illegal," Tucker said.