Manhattan prosecutors indicted Belal Hauter and seven other people in an alleged scheme to steal more than $7 million in SNAP benefits.

More than $7 million, $7 million, and upwards of $13 million are not the same sum. Five named people, and eight indicted people, are not the same count. A not-guilty plea from three defendants in the New York Post, and a not-guilty plea from eight people on NBC New York, are not the same courtroom. The next date both of those accounts print is Dec. 10.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and the New York City Department of Investigation, in a release dated Oct. 29, 2026, announced that District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., and DOI Commissioner Nadia I. Shihata had indicted eight people for conspiring to steal more than $7 million from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program between April 2023 and September 2025. The release says the alleged fraud affected thousands of victims, many of whom never received reimbursement. It says they are charged in a New York State Supreme Court indictment with Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree and various counts of grand larceny and identity theft. Bragg’s statement on that release says the conspiracy created fraudulent merchant processing accounts for fraudulent delis and paid itself by swiping stolen EBT cards at the point-of-sale systems on those accounts, and that the defendants allegedly tracked when benefit funds loaded and drained the accounts before the recipient could buy food, “eventually stealing more than $7 million.” Fraudulent delis, in that statement, and existing or fictitious delis, in the narrative under it, are not the same description. Shihata’s statement calls the program a “critical City-administered food program,” says the defendants allegedly stole EBT information and opened accounts in the names of real and fictitious delis, and says the money was allegedly used to purchase luxury vehicles and distributed internationally. She also said the department supports chip-enabled EBT cards, which the statement says New York State will roll out in the first quarter of 2027. The narrative says the account numbers and PINs were largely obtained with card skimmers, that clones of the cards were swiped almost immediately after funds loaded, often until the accounts were drained, and that in several cases the cardholder tried to use the card the day the money loaded and found the account drained. It names Belal Hauter, 34, as the person who allegedly led the conspiracy by opening, or directing coconspirators to open, merchant processing accounts in the names of various delis, bodega, or grocery stores, including a deli where multiple defendants worked, and says bank accounts were opened so the transactions went to accounts under their control. Bodega, singular, is the word in that list. It names Gregory Fabiani, 46, and Abdulla Aezah, 35, as the people who helped open the accounts and provided technical back-end support. It says others used the POS machines for thousands of transactions. It names Milton Rios, 53, and Yvette Rivera, 58, as people who also opened additional merchant processing accounts and bank accounts. Five names, and eight indicted people, are not the same count. The other three are not named in the release. It says photographic evidence showed what was essentially a fraud factory in the back room of a Yonkers deli and in hotels, with numerous POS systems, strings of receipts, and dozens of cloned EBT cards. It says the stolen funds allegedly bought multiple luxury vehicles and were used to send tens of thousands of dollars to Yemen and elsewhere internationally.

FOX 5 New York, by Amanda Hurley, published Nov. 5, 2026, at 2:46 p.m. EST, reported officials announced the indictments last month and that eight people face several charges. Its brief says the suspects used card skimmers to clone EBT cards and set up fake deli merchant accounts, and that the money went to luxury cars and international wire transfers. Fake deli, in that brief, and real and fictitious delis, in the district attorney’s narrative, are not the same set of stores. International wire transfers, in that brief, and send tens of thousands of dollars internationally, in the release, are not the same transfer line. The article body says operations were run out of hotel rooms and the back room of a Yonkers deli, and that Hauter is accused of directing co-conspirators to open merchant and bank accounts “used to launder the stolen benefits.” Launder is the word on FOX 5. It is not the word in the release. The body says the group wired tens of thousands of dollars internationally, including to Yemen. Wired, and send, are not the same verb. In the middle of the scheme section, the retrieved FOX 5 page prints a sentence about the U.S. Department of Justice, two Romanian brothers, a guilty plea on Thursday, and the words “Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program.” Assistant, and Assistance, are not the same program name. That sentence is not in the Manhattan release. It is not this indictment. Gothamist, by Giulia Heyward, published Oct. 29, 2026, and modified Oct. 30, reported eight people were charged in a scheme that “stole $7 million.” Stole $7 million, and more than $7 million, are not the same sum, and stole, in that lede, is not the word allegedly. It reported prosecutors identified only five of the accused, the same five names and ages, and that “Three of the five named individuals were arrested in New York City. The remaining three have not been arrested, according to the D.A.’s office.” Three of five, and a remaining three, do not add to five, and they do not add to eight. It spells the commissioner Nadia Shihata, with no middle initial. The release uses Nadia I. Shihata. It reported the charges as conspiracy, grand larceny and identity theft, without the degree. amNewYork, by Barbara Russo-Lennon, on Oct. 30, 2026, reported the announcement was Thursday, which Oct. 29 was, and that the five named people were charged with fourth-degree conspiracy and various counts of grand larceny and identity theft. Fourth-degree conspiracy, and Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree, are the same count in a different order of words. It said the millions “were then used” to buy a string of luxury vehicles before the later paragraphs say allegedly. Were then used, and allegedly were used, are not the same certainty, and both are on that page. It says made-up delis. Made-up, and fictitious, are not the same word. It says in some cases the recipient found the account drained. Some cases, and several cases, are not the same count.

The New York Post, by Amber Roldan, published Oct. 30, 2026, at 6:50 p.m. ET, reported eight people were indicted Thursday in an 18-month scheme that stole $7 million, using what it called electronic dupers, and that the plot ran from hotels and the backroom of a Yonkers deli. April 2023 through September 2025, and an 18-month scheme, are not the same span. Electronic dupers, and card skimmers, are not the same device word. Backroom, one word, and back room, two words, are not the same spelling. Stole $7 million, in that lede, and more than $7 million, in the release, are not the same sum. It reported Hauter, 34, directed co-conspirators to open merchant accounts for existing and fictitious bodegas, delis and grocery stores, that skimming machines captured and cloned EBT users’ PINs, and that the clones were swiped “almost immediately.” Cloning a PIN, and cloning a card from an account number and a PIN, are not the same step. It reported that of approximately ten investigated accounts, all but two were in Hauter’s name. That account count is not in the district attorney’s release. It reported stolen funds bought luxury vehicles including a BMW, and that one member sent Hauter a photograph of a vehicle with a message that he bought it “thanks to (him).” The BMW and that message are on the New York Post. They are not in the release. It reported thousands of dollars were sent to Yemen, where it says Hauter has ties. Thousands of dollars, and tens of thousands of dollars, are not the same amount. Ties to Yemen are the Post’s sentence. They are not in the release. It reported Abdulla Aezah and Gregory Fabiani appeared in court with Hauter on Thursday, that all three pleaded not guilty to grand larceny, conspiracy and identity theft, and that Judge Melissa T. Lewis ordered over a $1 million bail for Hauter. It reported Aezah and Fabiani were deemed flight risks, that the three surrendered U.S. passports, and that they are due back Dec. 10. It reported Hauter is believed to have had relatives involved who have since “fled the county,” in a paragraph that also uses the word country for staying in the country. County, and country, are not the same word, and both are on that page. It reported that despite the charged period of April 2023 to September 2025, prosecutors believe the operation could have lasted longer and be traced to upwards of $13 million. Upwards of $13 million, and more than $7 million, are not the same sum. NBC New York, by Yilber Vega of Telemundo 47, published Oct. 30, 2026, and updated at 5:33 p.m., reported the office filed charges against eight members of a network that allegedly misappropriated millions, that the charges include conspiracy, theft, and identity theft, and that the eight were arraigned that afternoon. Theft, and grand larceny, are not the same count name. Eight arraigned, and three of five arrested with a remaining three not arrested, are not the same arrest line. It reported the defendants pleaded not guilty, that the judge set bail between $100,000 and $1 million, and that the next appearance is Dec. 10. Between $100,000 and $1 million, and over a $1 million bail, are not the same bond. Dec. 10 is the date on NBC New York and on the New York Post. It is not a date in the Oct. 29 release. A charge is not a conviction. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.