REPORT: MILLIONS IN FOOD STAMP MONEY USED FOR MIDDLE
EAST TERRORISM, by 10/24/18.
The
Government Accountability Institute (GAI) has made a report regarding the use
of food stamp fraud to finance terrorism in the United States and abroad. Money
from food stamp fraud financed the first bombing of the World Trade center in
1993. It was also used in the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing.
The
use of food stamp fraud first appeared in the 1980s but did not create a stir
until investigators testified before Congress that it was food stamp fraud
money that financed the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. The detectives told
Congress that at least $125 million found it’s way to terrorists.
From Breitbart News - One of the
masterminds of the 1993 World Trade Center bombings, Mahmud Abouhalima,
funded the attacks by operating a million-dollar food stamp fraud scheme
out of a video store in Brooklyn.
But the U.S.
government did not pinpoint how a lot of these terrorists used money from food stamp fraud to fund their attacks until shortly after the
September 11 attacks in 2001.
The U.S.
Treasury Department and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) identified that many terrorists would get away with funding their illicit
activities by using businesses known as “hawalas” to launder money.
A “hawala”—
which is an Arabic term defined in English as the transfer (or trust)— is
a method of transferring money through informal agents from international
networks, and many Muslim immigrants settled in western countries use the
“hawala” method to transfer funds to family members.
It’s
nearly impossible to track the money sent through the hawalas and that makes
them very popular among drug cartels and terrorists who can launder money
through them.
That
is what a new report says.Your tax dollars flowed to terrorists around the world via food stamp fraud, by Ann Corcoran, 10/25/18.
Longtime readers know that a pet project of mine for
several years was following the food stamp fraud busts going on around the
country. See my complete file on the subject here.
I’m
relieved to see that some organization of stature has taken the issue of food
stamp “trafficking” seriously.
From Breitbart (Hat tip: Richard @highblueridge):
Report: Millions in Food Stamp Dollars Flowed to Terrorists
Millions of taxpayers dollars trafficked through food stamp fraud went
to terrorists who funded their activities at home and abroad, according to an
explosive report from the Government Accountability Institute (GAI).
The
report from GAI, where Breitbart
News Senior-Editor-at-Large Peter Schweizer serves as
president, highlighted several instances where money obtained through
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits fraud went to fund
acts of terrorism, including the 1993 World Trade Center bombings and the 2013
Boston Marathon Bombing.
“Hawalas” used to launder money - The U.S. Treasury Department and the
U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Office of the Inspector General (OIG)
identified that many terrorists would get away with funding their illicit activities
by using businesses known as “hawalas” to launder money.
A
“hawala”— which is an Arabic term defined in English as transfer (or trust)— is
a method of transferring money through informal agents from international
networks, and many Muslim immigrants settled in western countries use the
“hawala” method to transfer funds to family members.
GAI,
citing a U.S. Treasury report, found that more than $7 billion flows into
Pakistan alone through hawalas every year.
Investigators say it is very difficult to track the money moved around
through hawalas, even though the federal government has known about the use of
hawalas and their alleged role in financing terrorism for years.
But
as federal investigators became more familiar with the welfare fraud mechanisms
used to fund terrorist activities after the September 11 attacks, investigators
have cracked down on a number of instances where terrorists have used the
benefit fraud for such purposes. Much more here.
By
the way, even if your tax dollars don’t make it into the hands of terrorists,
the billions of US dollars sent out of the country via remittances to ‘home’
countries have a huge impact on the US as it is money that is not available
to our economy.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody
GA Tea Party Leader
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