Week in Review—Hammond

HAMMOND, IN—The United States Attorney’s Office announced the following activity in federal court:

Indictment

Rebhi Mohammad, 59; Ola Mohammad, 32; and Abdkdar Mohammad, 28, of Chicago, Illinois, were charged in a superceding indictment with conspiracy to defraud the USDA SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and wire fraud by claiming that they and the business known as Moses Foods were legitimately entitled to reimbursements when, in fact, they were trading cash and ineligible items for SNAP benefit redemptions. These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Department of Agriculture Office of the Inspector General. This case has been assigned to and will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diane Berkowitz.

Plea

Dwayne Crawford, 40, of Merrillville, Indiana, pled guilty before Magistrate Judge Andrew Rodovich to the felony offense of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana, possession with intent to distribute and distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, and engaging in a monetary transaction with criminally derived property of a value greater than $10,000. Magistrate Rodovich is recommending that the district court accept the tendered guilty plea. Parties have 10 days in which to object to the magistrate judge’s recommendation. Sentencing has been set for May 17, 2013. These charges were filed as a result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation GRIT Task Force. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jacqueline Jacobs.

If convicted in court, any specific sentence to be imposed will be determined by the judge after a consideration of federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.