A man accused of burning down his failing south Everett business in July 2004 to collect the insurance money first tried to stave off financial losses through food stamp fraud, according to federal prosecutors.
Mirza Akram was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit food stamp fraud, 11 counts of food stamp fraud, and 11 counts of theft of government property last week in U.S. District Court in Seattle.
Federal prosecutors say Akram illegally redeemed food stamps for money and also allowed customers to purchase alcohol and other ineligible merchandise with the stamps.
The allegations were tacked onto a previous arson charge that resulted from a blaze that destroyed Continental Spices on July 9, 2004.
Azram, who managed the market, was buying it from Seattle-based Za Trading Co. The small store at 315 E. Casino Road sold groceries and spices from the Middle East.
Revenues were declining, and Azram still owed more than $30,000 on the store, according to court documents. Prosecutors believe that Azram tried to bolster the store’s finances through food stamp fraud about a year before the fire, according to the indictment filed in federal court.
Food stamp recipients typically receive their benefits on an electronic card similar to a debit card. Participating stores are electronically credited for the purchases. It’s illegal to redeem the food stamps for cash or purchase nonfood items. including alcohol or cigarettes.
Akram reportedly allowed customers to buy ineligible items or cashed the food stamps for less money than he was credited, according to court documents.
When those transactions failed to pay off, prosecutors said, Akram and a friend, Naveed Muhammad Kahn, torched the market under the guise of a hate crime.
The morning of the fire, Akram told investigators he feared the market was targeted in retaliation for attacks on Americans in the Middle East. He claimed that a month earlier, two white men had come into the store and used racial insults.
Kahn later told investigators that Akram poured gasoline throughout the store and tipped over some burning incense to spark the fire.
Akram was arrested a little more than a month after the blaze. Kahn, a U.S. Navy sailor based in Bremerton, was picked up a month later.
Akram is expected to be arraigned today on the fraud and arson charges.
Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com.
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