DAYTON, Ohio – A father, mother and two sons pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court for their roles in a food stamp fraud case related to retail meat home delivery services and that involved the exchange of Oxycodone, heroin and marijuana for food stamps in the Dayton area.
Scott Andrew Traum, 46; Joey Lightcap Traum, 44; Brandon Scott Traum, 22; and Dalton Andrew Traum, 21; all of Fairfield, Ohio, pleaded guilty today. The parents, Scott and Joey Traum, as well as son Dalton Traum each pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in a conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States to include: illegally acquiring, possessing and using U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Brandon Traum pleaded guilty to unauthorized use of SNAP benefits.
Benjamin C. Glassman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and other members of the District’s electronic and financial crimes task force, announced the pleas entered into today before U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Rose.
The Southern District of Ohio Task Force is made up of approximately 60 federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in Ohio. This task force, along with an additional 80 electronic and financial networks across the United States, has been established to prevent, detect and investigate various forms of criminal activity that have large community impact.
According to court documents, since 2011, individuals associated with U.S. Beef Cincinnati LLC in Fairfield, Ohio actively engaged in illegal/fraudulent SNAP EBT (Food Stamp) transactions in exchange for cash. The owners, managers and other employees of the door-to-door meat retailers repeatedly, continually and illegally acquired and redeemed SNAP benefits in exchange for ineligible items including money, Oxycodone, heroin and marijuana.
Scott and Joey Traum owned and operated U.S. Beef Cincinnati LLC. USDA records show that between December 2011 and May 2015, approximately 8,145 suspected fraudulent SNAP EBT transactions were completed via voucher for their employees for a total amount of approximately $1.1 million.
The other three defendants in this case have already been sentenced. They include:
- Keith Blankenship, 37, of Loveland, Ohio, who was sentenced to 30 months in prison and ordered to pay nearly $764,000 in restitution;
- Gregory M. Brown, 37, of Cincinnati, who was sentenced to 15 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $9,000 in restitution; and
- William N. King, 24, of Fairfield, Ohio, who was sentenced to 6 months in prison and ordered to pay nearly $373,000 in restitution.
U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the investigation of this case by the Southern District of Ohio Task Force and Assistant United States Attorney Dwight K. Keller, who is representing the United States in this case.