HARRISBURG, PA — Eleven Philadelphia-area business owners have been charged in an alleged fraud scheme that caused approximately $985,000 in losses to Pennsylvania’s WIC program, according to the state Attorney General’s Office.
Attorney General Dave Sunday said the defendants allegedly submitted fraudulent reimbursement claims through grocery and convenience stores that were approved vendors in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, commonly known as WIC.
The alleged scheme occurred between 2021 and 2025, according to investigators.
Authorities said the defendants allegedly forged or fabricated invoices used to seek reimbursement from the program, which is administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Health and provides nutritional assistance to eligible women, infants and children.
Attorney General’s Office agents inspected thousands of receipts and conducted audits as part of the investigation. Authorities said they identified nearly 10,000 allegedly fraudulent reimbursement requests, nearly 9,000 of which were paid.
The defendants allegedly sought more than $1 million in reimbursements, with approximately $985,000 ultimately paid by the state, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
Authorities identified nine of the defendants as Margarita Collado, Musa Berry, Amaury Gomez, Felix Sosa, Fransico Garcia, Patxi De La Cruz, Raquel De La Cruz, Johanna Luciano-Valera and Ramon Fernandez. Two additional defendants have not been publicly identified because they had not been taken into custody.
Nine of the 11 defendants were taken into custody and arraigned Wednesday, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
All 11 defendants are charged with felony counts of theft by deception, forgery and tampering with public records.
According to the Attorney General’s Office, the businesses associated with the alleged fraudulent claims included El Paisano Express Food, Uncle Musa Grocery, Compare & Save Supermarket, Carmen Grocery Inc., Kendra Mini Market, Liberty Mini Market Inc., Tioga Food Market 1 Inc. and Garcia Super Deli Market.
Individual amounts attributed to the businesses ranged from less than $1,000 to more than $342,000, according to state investigators.
Deputy Attorney General Andrew Biggins is prosecuting the cases.
All suspects, arrestees, and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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