Update: More Charges in Ohio Illegal Slaughterhouse Case

I first told you about charges brought against Amin M. Salem, and Mohamed Salem his son here in January.

 
The case involves much more than the illegal halal slaughter of lambs and goats.  It stemmed from an investigation into a massive food stamp fraud scheme by the pair.
However, apparently there were accomplices in the slaughter ‘business’ that resulted in an investigation that included the EPA for dumping of animal wastes into nearby waterways.
Have a look at my earlier report and then see the latest news from Cleveland, Ohio.

From Cleveland.com,

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Federal prosecutors charged two men following a years-long investigation into what they said is millions of dollars in food stamp fraud and an illegal slaughter operation in Lorain County.
Mahmoud Abukhalil, a Lakewood resident, and Bernard Whiting, who lives in Cleveland, are charged with causing un-permitted discharges into a waterway, as well as slaughtering animals for commercial use without a permit.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office accused both men of dumping blood and other bodily fluids from animals into Engle Ditch in Lorain County, which flows into the Black River.

Abukhalil and Whiting also slaughtered 400 lambs or goats weighing about 25,000 pounds without having the process federally inspected. They then sold the meat, according to federal prosecutors.
The charges came as part of a larger investigation the FBI, IRS and other agencies began in 2015 that encompassed money laundering, the illegal slaughter operation and Clean Water Act violations.
Charges against Abukhalil, 46, and Whiting, 45, were filed Friday through documents known as a “criminal information,” which usually means a plea agreement is forthcoming.

[….]
The investigation centered Amin and Mohamed Salem, a father and son duo arrested in January. Federal prosecutors said Abukhalil and Whiting worked as part of the Salem’s operations.
The federal investigation was made public in November 2016, when the agents raided gas stations in Cleveland and Garfield Heights connected to the Salem family.
Meat from the slaughtering operation was sold to Middle Eastern restaurants and stores in the Cleveland area, prosecutors previously said. While Amin Salem illegally sold meat slaughtered on his property, Mohamed Salem also sold the meat and allowed customers to buy it using cards for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps, authorities said.
Prosecutors said Mohamed Salem also managed the finances of gas stations on behalf of his father, authorities said. The gas stations accepted payment cards as part of the SNAP program, and Mohamed Salem managed finances because his father was barred from owning stores that accepted government benefits cards because of previous criminal convictions.

The Salems processed more than $2.7 million in fraudulent SNAP transactions between 2010 and 2016, according to the indictment.

Do you have halal slaughter going on near where you live?

Find out if the slaughtering is being regulated by the feds and make sure that the operation is not polluting our waterways. Clearly these new Americans have no regard for our environment! 

You might also want to encourage PETA to look into the methods being employed to slaughter the animals.
This post is filed in my category entitled ‘Food Stamp Fraud,’ see here.