The owner of a neighborhood market pleaded guilty to grand larceny earlier this week after authorities accused him of cashing food stamps for customers and keeping a portion of the proceeds.

Grand larceny is a property theft of over $1,000 and can be a state and federal crime. Penalties for grand larceny include jail time and repayment of the missing funds. Third degree grand larceny is a class D felony in the state of New York.

The police seized $124,000 of allegedly stolen money during a raid of the man's house. There is no information available as to whether or not this sum will contribute to any repayment required by the court. Sentencing will take place in the spring, and could result in up to three years in prison.

The man was charged with theft after authorities conducted an investigation in to food stamp misuse at local stores. Police found that store owners were buying cashing food stamp cards for customers, which is illegal under the food stamp system. Surveillance videos revealed card holders leaving the market with no merchandise despite large transactions registering on their cards. Police claim that this is a common practice and that the schemes are costing taxpayers large sums of money.

No information is available as to whether or not the store owner knew the exchange of food stamp credits for cash was illegal at the time. The allegedly widespread nature of the practice suggests that this is an industry norm that may be exploiting weaknesses in the food stamp system.

Source: CW 15 Albany, "Albany store owner pleads guilty to welfare fraud," Feb. 16, 2012.