BOONEVILLE, Ky. (AP) -
The owner of a market in an eastern Kentucky county has been charged with food stamp fraud totaling more than $2 million.
A federal grand jury indicted Billy Joe Goe, owner of Joe’s Meat Market in Owsley County, and his son Robert Goe on Thursday.
The Herald-Leader reports both men face one charge of conspiring to defraud the U.S. and one charge of benefits fraud. The fraud charge carries a top sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The two allegedly bought food stamps from customers for cash at a discounted rate. The store processed $2.8 million in food stamp transactions from October 2010 through the end of 2015.
Owsley County has about 4,472 residents and a 2017 median household income of $22,736, compared to $57,652 nationally, according to the U.S. Census.
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