A Boston convenience store owner has pleaded guilty in a scheme that trafficked nearly $7 million in SNAP benefits through an unusually small storefront, with authorities seizing funds and charging him with multiple federal crimes.
The operator of a tiny Mattapan shop admitted guilt after prosecutors say the business redeemed SNAP benefits at levels far beyond what its size and inventory could justify. Authorities uncovered transaction data and undercover purchases that point to large-scale trafficking rather than ordinary retail food sales.
Antonio Bonheur, 74, of Mattapan, pleaded guilty to one count of food stamp fraud and one count of wire fraud and agreed to forfeit nearly $400,000 in proceeds seized during the investigation. He was arrested and charged in December 2025, and sentencing is scheduled for July 8, 2026.
Bonheur ran Jesula Variety Store from a single street-facing storefront that measured about 150 square feet. Despite the cramped space and limited inventory, monthly SNAP redemptions routinely exceeded $100,000, frequently topped $300,000, and at times reached $500,000—numbers that dwarf a nearby full-service supermarket’s roughly $82,000 monthly SNAP redemptions.
Investigators flagged the store’s transaction patterns as highly irregular: about 10 percent of SNAP transactions were for amounts under $40, while more than 70 percent exceeded $95. Those patterns match what you’d expect at a major supermarket, not a tiny variety shop with minimal food stock, which raised red flags during the probe.
Undercover purchases during the investigation demonstrated trafficking on four occasions, with Bonheur personally handling transactions and exchanging SNAP benefits for cash. Authorities also found instances in which SNAP benefits were used to buy liquor, and the store sold MannaPack meals—donated relief packages intended for food-insecure children overseas—for roughly $8 per package, a practice those donations do not authorize.
Because Jesula Variety Store carried little legitimate food and generated minimal lawful revenue, prosecutors say Bonheur relied almost entirely on USDA-funded SNAP redemptions for income. To hide the source and flow of those funds, he maintained multiple secondary bank accounts, transferring and withdrawing money to create the appearance of legitimate business activity while obscuring the true origin of the proceeds.
Despite the massive SNAP redemptions flowing through his store, Bonheur was issued a SNAP card for himself by the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance and allegedly made false statements about his income and assets when applying. The charge of food stamp fraud greater than $5,000 carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000, and the wire fraud count carries similar penalties.
Federal and local officials announced the case, including United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Charmeka Parker, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations – Northeast Region; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox. Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Mallard of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit is prosecuting the case.
The charging documents outline the transactional evidence and investigative findings that led to the indictment and plea, and investigators emphasize the difference between legitimate retail activity and the anomalous redemption patterns seen at Jesula Variety Store. The documents show the breadth of the scheme and the methods used to move and disguise funds derived from SNAP trafficking.
The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The remaining defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
