LOWER MANHATTAN — An East Harlem bodega owner was arrested Thursday for using “illegal schemes” to sell K2 for food stamps, officials said.
Yousif Mosleh, 26, who owns two delis on Lexington Avenue between East 124th and 125th streets, was charged with two counts of distribution and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.
Each count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, officials said.
He was also charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the statutes and regulations governing food stamps, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
“Mosleh is charged with peddling dangerous synthetic drugs in New York City neighborhoods and funding his drug sales by abusing a system created to assist the most vulnerable in our society,” said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.
The intersection near Mosleh’s stores has been dubbed "K2 Street" by locals for its problems with the illegal synthetic drug, DNAinfo New York reported.
One of the delis owned by Mosleh is LX Deli on Lexington Avenue near East 125th Street.
Last summer police seized more than 8,000 packets of synthetic marijuana during inspections of bodegas in East Harlem.
Between June 29 and July 30 last year, officials used informants for its investigation into Mosleh. One informant used food stamps to buy K2 and “other ineligible items” directly from Mosleh at one of his bodegas, officials said.
Also, between July 23 and July 30 last year, authorities raided the deli and found more than 2,000 packets of the drug.
Mosleh received a license to accept food stamp benefits in Dec. 2007 at one deli, and for the other deli in June 2014, officials said.
Mosleh, officials said, often worked the cash register at one of his delis and operated the machine that processes food stamp transactions.
The crackdown was a joint investigation with a slew of federal and local agencies, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations and the New York City Sheriff’s Office.
