A major fraud investigation is exposed Wednesday in Erie.

Federal agents from across the Tri-state area, along with local and state police, converged on several Erie businesses Wednesday.

It is all part of a welfare fraud investigation, lasting over a year.

Several Erie convenience stores were filled with federal agents Wednesday, they claim the owners defrauded taxpayers out of more than a million dollars.

WICU & WSEE had the only news cameras at the scene on Wednesday, as federal agents served a search warrant at the Ash Street Market, located at 6th and Ash in Erie.

It was one of 5 convenience stores raided by police Wednesday, along with a couple of homes and vehicles.

Police say it's all part of a food stamp and welfare fraud investigation that lasted a year and a half.

That federal investigation uncovered that the store owner would pay 50-cents to the dollar for those benefit cards.

So police say if someone had a $300 food stamp benefit card, the owner of the store would pay $150 cash for it, and then collect $300 from the government.
The person who sold the card, would then use the cash for whatever they wanted, instead of food and other necessities it was meant for, from the government.

Erie Police Chief Randy Bowers says Erie officers assisted the feds in their investigation, "The losses are estimated to be around a million dollars and it's all taxpayer money," said Chief Bowers.

Federal agents from the USDA led the investigation, along with the IRS, and Homeland Security agents were also on-hand Wednesday. State Police and Erie police were assisting as part of the investigation. Chief Bowers says a large-scale federal investigation like this is uncommon in Erie, "It is an unusual case, and it's good work on the part of government agencies doing their job, watching out for the taxpayers dollars, because this is certainly fraud," said Chief Bowers.

Police also recovered 5 pounds of marijuana from inside the Ash Street Market.

And in all, Chief Bowers said police served nine search warrants Wednesday, and also recovered five guns. So, a separate investigation is now underway by Erie police, looking into those guns and drugs.