Omar Alaidrus, a 24-year-old resident of Schenectady, New York, has been sentenced to one year in prison after pleading guilty to charges of distributing controlled substances and committing food stamp fraud. The sentencing was announced by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman along with officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Office of the Inspector General, Homeland Security Investigations, and the New York State Police.
Alaidrus confessed to exchanging fentanyl for food stamps at a deli owned by his family in Schenectady. He also admitted to illegally providing cash for food stamps and redeeming them for prohibited items such as Xanax, alcohol, and tobacco. In addition to his prison sentence, Senior United States District Judge Lawrence E. Kahn ordered Alaidrus to pay $316,975 in restitution to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service and imposed a three-year term of supervised release.
The investigation involved multiple agencies including USDA-OIG, HSI, New York State Police, and local law enforcement in Schenectady. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan S. Reiner prosecuted the case.