Tipsheet

Virginia Grocery Store Owner Sentenced to Nearly 3 Years for $2.1 Million Food Stamp Fraud

Scott McClallen
Scott McClallen  |  June 11, 2026 5:01 PM

A man living in Virginia was sentenced to nearly three years in prison for allegedly committing fraud in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. 

The owner of Taste of India, a medium-sized grocery store in Lynchburg, was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison on federal food stamp fraud and other charges.

Rajan Babbar, 60, pled guilty in March 2026 to one count of fraud regarding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, and one count of transacting in criminally derived property. 

The SNAP program helps feed about 41 million people with low incomes. The program's goal is to alleviate hunger and malnutrition among low and middle-income families by increasing their food purchasing power, but many criminals steal from the program either through not reporting household income, trading benefits for banned items such as alcohol or tobacco, or selling the benefits online. 

Court documents say that in 2016, Babbar filed paperwork with the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) for Taste of India to become a SNAP retailer. In December 2016, FNS approved Babbar’s application.

Beginning around April 2021, it is alleged that SNAP sales at Taste of India surged above previous levels. For example, in 2018, Taste of India was processing approximately $2,600 in SNAP transactions per month. 

By 2023, the approximate monthly average was $65,000 a month, a roughly 2,500 percent increase. Between January 2019 and January 2025, the average individual SNAP transaction at Taste of India was for $115.77. By comparison, the average individual SNAP transaction among similarly sized stores statewide was $40.61.

To perpetuate the scheme, Babbar admitted that he permitted individuals to exchange their SNAP benefits for cash. Babbar rang up false transactions for non-existent food items and other products. He then provided those individuals with cash for approximately one-half the value of the SNAP benefits.

Between approximately January 2019 and January 2025, Babbar conducted numerous such fraudulent SNAP transactions in an amount determined by the Court to be $2,108,924. 

The Hon. Norman K. Moon, Senior United States District Judge, also ordered that Babbar forfeit more than $380,000 in seized assets and pay $2,108,924 in restitution back to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service.

For the first time in recent history, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is hunting criminals who steal from the nation's poorest. The federal government is charging retailers who commit SNAP fraud, as well as criminals who use card skimmers to steal from shoppers. 

Dozens of states have shared data with the federal government, but many blue states have refused to share data.



First Assistant United States Attorney Robert N. Tracci, Charmeka Parker, Special Agent in Charge of the USDA-OIG, Northeast Region, and Ian Kaufmann, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Division made the announcement. 

The USDA-OIG, FBI, and Lynchburg Police Department investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee Brett prosecuted the case.