CINCINNATI -- A federal grand jury indicted Findlay Market butcher shop Busch's Country Corner owner Michael Busch and his brother Randall Busch on a total of 42 charges Tuesday.
The brothers and others conspired to illegally acquire food stamp benefits from authorized recipients and submitted false Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program reimbursement claims between 2010 and 2018, according to the indictment.
They completed 195,113 SNAP transactions during that time, representing more than $5.4 million, according to the indictment. 64 percent -- $3.4 million -- were fraudulent.
Randall Busch was indicted on all 42 counts, including conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy, 20 counts of SNAP fraud and 20 counts fo wire fraud. Michael Busch was indicted on 24 counts and the business was indicted on just two counts.
Michael Busch's wife, Amanda, had a role in the business but was not indicted.
Authorities also seized money and property in the indictment. The defendants will forfeit nearly $200,000 in cash, the contents of three bank accounts totaling more than $75,000, five vehicles and anything that was used in the alleged crimes.
Investigators raided the Findlay Market business last month seeking financial records, security camera recordings and electronic communications. Authorities said the shop was conducting many more SNAP transactions each month than comparable businesses.
Benjamin Dusing, the attorney representing Amanda and Michael Busch, previously said the allegations against them were "unfair and untrue." He said Busch's did not have as many food stamp transactions as authorities alleged and implied a competitor may have been behind the allegations.
"There are other direct competitors in that marketplace who have a direct and documented legal history of being a problem to the Busches ... There's been some animosity down there, and the Busches have been on the wrong end of some poor treatment for a very long time," Dusing previously said.
