Essex County Businessman Sentenced to Prison for $2 Million Food Stamp Fraud Scheme

TRENTON, N.J. - An Essex County, New Jersey business owner was sentenced to 27 months in prison for defrauding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) of over $2 million, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.

Victor Madera, 67, of New Brunswick, New Jersey, was sentenced on July 1, 2026 before U.S. District Judge Robert Kirsch in Trenton federal court. He previously pleaded guilty to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to defraud SNAP and one count of engaging in SNAP benefits fraud.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Madera owned a medium-sized grocery store in East Orange, New Jersey and was an authorized participant in SNAP. SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program, is a U.S. Department of Agriculture program that uses federal tax dollars to subsidize low-income households, providing those households the opportunity to maintain a more nutritious diet by increasing their purchasing power of eligible food products. Between May 2017 and November 2024, employees at Madera's business illegally exchanged SNAP benefits for cash. The employees entered inflated dollar amounts for allegedly eligible SNAP transactions and provided SNAP recipients a percentage of the transaction's value in cash, keeping the remainder. As a result of this conduct, Madera received SNAP redemptions far in excess of the true value of food and other SNAP-eligible items actually received by SNAP recipients. Madera, through his business, unlawfully exchanged over $2.2 million of SNAP benefits for cash.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Kirsch sentenced Madera to 1 year of supervised release and ordered him to pay over $2.2 million in restitution and forfeiture.

U.S. Attorney Frazer credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Agriculture - Office of Inspector General, Northeast Region, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Charmeka Parker, with the investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine M. Romano, Chief of the General Crimes Unit in Newark.

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Defense counsel: Stephen Turano, Esq.