VA Grocery Store Owner Admits To Multi-Million Dollar Food Stamp Fraud

India-West News Desk

LYNCHBURG, VA– Rajan Babbar, owner of the grocery store Taste of India here, has pleaded guilty in federal court to charges related to fraud involving the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), authorities said.

Babbar, 59, admitted to one count of fraud involving SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, and one count of transacting in criminally derived property, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia.

According to court documents, Babbar applied in 2016 to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service to authorize Taste of India as a SNAP retailer. The application was approved in December 2016.

Investigators said SNAP activity at the store rose sharply beginning around April 2021. While the store averaged about $2,600 per month in SNAP transactions in 2018, that figure increased to roughly $65,000 per month by 2023, representing a rise of about 2,500 percent, court records show.

Between January 2019 and January 2025, the average SNAP transaction at the store was $115.77, significantly higher than the $40.61 average recorded at similarly sized stores across Virginia, according to the court filings.

Authorities said Babbar permitted individuals to exchange SNAP benefits for cash, processing transactions for food and other items that were not actually purchased. Customers were then given cash worth approximately half the value of the benefits, prosecutors said.

Court documents state that between January 2019 and January 2025, Babbar conducted fraudulent SNAP transactions totaling more than $550,000 but less than $3.5 million.