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City Official Headed to Prison in Food Stamp Scheme, Officials Say

By Peter Duffy | July 29, 2016 5:03pm
 Harry Fletcher was sentenced to 36 months by U.S. District Judge Kevin T. Duffy in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday.
Harry Fletcher was sentenced to 36 months by U.S. District Judge Kevin T. Duffy in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday.
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MANHATTAN — A former official of the city's Human Resources Administration is headed to prison for masterminding a bribes-for-food-stamps scheme.

Harry Fletcher was sentenced to 36 months by U.S. District Judge Kevin T. Duffy in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday.

In April, Fletcher pleaded guilty to one count of soliciting and accepting bribes from several individuals, who he provided with Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program benefits (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) for which they were ineligible.

Fletcher took more than $20,000 in bribes in exchange for awarding more than $240,000 in food stamp benefits.

"As he admitted in court, Harry Fletcher set up a scheme to receive bribes for providing illegitimate benefits," said U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in a statement. "By doing so, he didn't just take advantage of New York City's social services system, he abused some of the neediest and least fortunate in the city."

Fletcher worked the scam from 2009 to 2015. 

He used personal identifying information from the ineligible individuals to process SNAP applications and provided them with electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards that were loaded with public assistance funds.

When questioned by an associate about whether the scheme was workable, Fletcher said, "I've been rocking this for years," according to the criminal complaint.

Two of the individuals involved — referred to in the complaint as CW-1 and CW-2 — cooperated with the government. 

Both have pleaded guilty.