Three years in jail and $1.4 million in restitution: that's Ali Ratib Daham's sentence for a welfare fraud scheme he ran from a Portland halal market, according to a press release from U.S. District Attorney Halsey Frank.
U.S. District Court Judge D. Brock Hornby imposed the sentence, saying that Daham's actions caused distrust of government welfare programs and may lead to prejudice against welfare recipients and immigrants.
Daham's younger brother, Abdulkareem, Daham was also sentenced in the conspiracy, receiving a two-year jail sentence and an order to pay $950,000 in restitution.
Prosecutors say that as part of the scam, the brothers allowed customers to exchange food stamps and other government benefits for cash and ineligible goods.