Chinatown bakery used ill-gotten EBT cards to buy supplies

The owner of a small Beach Street bakery admitted today that he and his employees bought food-stamp credits at half price and then used the holders' EBT cards to purchase supplies at other Chinatown food stores.

Xi Xian Lei pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of conspiracy to commit SNAP (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program) benefits fraud and two counts of SNAP fraud for the $740,000 in credits he and workers at the Mei Sum Bakery bought between 2010 and 2012, the US Attorney's office reports.

The "information," or accounting of the case against him, suggests the stores where he and the workers made their purchases could also face charges - they're listed as "coconspirator establishments." It adds the actual owners of the EBT cards were more interested in earning some money from their cards than buying the food the cards were intended for.