Lynchburg grocery store owner arrested on food stamp fraud charges

A Lynchburg grocery store owner was arrested on Tuesday on fraud charges related to the SNAP program

Rajan Babbar, 59, of Lynchburg, is charged with food stamp fraud and wire fraud, according to a report from the Department of Justice.

According to court documents, Babbar, the owner of Taste of India, filed paperwork in 2016 with the USDA Food and Nutrition Service for his grocery store to become a SNAP retailer.

The FNS reportedly began to notice “unusual activity,” according to the DOJ, in 2018, and the agency placed Taste of India on a “watch list” to further monitor the store’s activities.

An investigation into the business included five undercover encounters in 2019 and 2020 in which investigators were able to make unauthorized purchases of ineligible items using SNAP EBT cards, primarily for cosmetic and hygiene products.

Babbar ultimately paid a $1,932 civil penalty in lieu of a six-month disqualification, but he was allowed to continue to operate as a SNAP retailer.

According to the criminal complaint filed on Tuesday, USDA-OIG agents began to review the food stamp redemptions for Taste of India and noticed the redemptions seemed unusually high for this type of store and location. The dollar amount of SNAP redemptions skyrocketed at Taste of India during a relatively short span.

In January 2018, the store completed approximately $2,500 in monthly SNAP transactions; that figure was more than $30,000 by May 2021. By February 2023, Taste of India was redeeming more than $104,000 in SNAP funds. Throughout this period, Taste of India remained at the same location and in the same-sized building.

USDA-OIG, in partnership with the FBI and the Lynchburg Police Department, proceeded to conduct additional undercover operations at Taste of India in the spring of 2023.

On three occasions between April and September 2023, an undercover source entered Taste of India and another store then operated by Babbar and attempted to exchange SNAP benefits for cash. On all three occasions, Babbar agreed to the exchange and provided cash to the undercover source.

No product or merchandise was sold, according to investigators.