SoCal food truck owner accused of illegal food…
The owner of a Southern California food truck was arrested not too long ago for illegally processing an unusually large quantity of food stamp transactions, according to photographs and a prison criticism obtained by The California Post.
It comes as the state contends with SNAP fraud estimated to be in the tens of tens of millions of {dollars}.
Investigators had been snooping around food truck Soriano Produce, owned by Esmeralda Soriano, which primarily operates out of Lyon Street in Santa Ana and sells fruit and produce on a “low volume.”
It began accepting SNAP and EBT advantages in May 2023, according to the criticism.
Soriano Produce, a food truck situated primarily at 1001 S. Lyon Street, Santa Ana, California 92705. Obtained by CA Post
Through undercover operations and surveillance, an officer found that the truck had a countertop checkout space that had food and non-food objects. One can use SNAP to buy food objects, but non-food objects such as houseware and toiletry are ineligible.
Dwight Llewellyn, an agent for Homeland Security Investigations, said the food truck had one system to course of all food stamp transactions, but the report of transactions appeared sketchy.
“Based on my training and experience, the lack of scanners, coupled with consistent high dollar transactions, and rapid back-to-back transactions, are indicators of possible fraud,” he said in the criticism.
The quantity of SNAP money redeemed by Soriano in contrast to other close by, comparable distributors was also suspiciously large, the criticism said. Soriano Produce has one register, an average buy quantity of $151.41, and store greenback quantity totaling $640,924.
On the other hand, three other distributors close by had an average buy quantity of below $55 and totals less than $100,000 from April 2025 to April 2026.
Soriano Produce, a food truck Obtained by CA Post
In fact, Soriano made more EBT money than full-blown supermarkets and grocery shops, the criticism calculated.
In May of this 12 months, undercover officers had been in a position to commerce $100 in SNAP for $50 in money, they said. Soriano reportedly told the officer, “If you come back, don’t ask my husband because he would not do it.”
Soriano Produce, a food truck. Obtained by CA Post
Undercover brokers again approached Soriano later in the month, who charged the EBT card $172 and gave the officer $80 in money.
Photos shared with The Post show a Homeland Security agent exterior of a white food truck that appeared to be in operation when the arrest occurred. Some objects on sale included luggage of chips and other snacks.
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Her alleged violation carries extreme federal penalties, including up to 20 years in prison and fines up to $250,000.
The latest bust comes just a week after federal brokers cracked down on another alleged SNAP fraud ring in Los Angeles, arresting a cashier accused of pocketing kickbacks from welfare recipients in exchange for faux purchases. Armored federal brokers, backed by uniformed LAPD officers, descended on Escamex Party Supplies in Skid Row during the raid.
SNAP fraud is a big issue in California. Getty Images
The operation was one of at least 4 carried out across California last week by the US Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General and Homeland Security Investigations as half of a sweeping crackdown on retailers accused of food stamp fraud.
California operates the nation’s largest SNAP program, distributing roughly $12.5 billion in advantages each 12 months. About 11% of those funds are issued in error — most often because recipients present false or incomplete family data or due to administrative errors, according to the California Legislature’s nonpartisan fiscal and coverage advisor.
“These programs are administered by the state, and the state have not done a good enough job to weed out the fraudsters,” Los Angeles’ top federal prosecutor Bill Essayli had told The Post.
The USDA also not too long ago issued violation notices to 33 SNAP-authorized retailers across town for the illegal exchange of SNAP advantages for money and the sale of prohibited objects such as alcohol and tobacco.
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