Nanuet Man Charged in Facebook Death Threats Accused of Food Stamp Fraud

The Nanuet man arrested in March on charges he made death threats to public officials on Facebook, including Gov. Andrew Cuomo and members of Congress, has been hit with new charges accusing him of food stamp fraud.

Rockland County District Attorney Thomas Zugibe said 50, of 66 Freedman Ave., Nanuet, took part in a scheme at a Central Nyack store in which he used an electronic benefits card to illegally obtain cash, alcohol, cigarettes and other items prohibited from food stamp use.

Mulqueen is charged with fourth-degree grand larceny and misuse of food stamps, both felonies, in connection with the unlawful exchanges worth $1,768.

In some instances, the clerks at the Nyack Food Mart, 4 Waldron Ave., Central Nyack, would swipe Mulqueen’s EBT card and enter fraudulent information on a dedicated EBT terminal, indicating that he purchased groceries. Zugibe said the clerks furnished cash to Mulqueen for a portion of what was charged to the EBT card account, providing the store with a profit on each fraudulent transaction.

In January, Nyack Food Mart owners and five of its clerks were charged with food stamp fraud.

The Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. Benefits are distributed to low‐income recipients in New York through the use of electronic benefit transfer cards. Individuals enrolled in the program are only allowed to purchase eligible items with their EBT cards, such as milk, bread and eggs. Recipients are not permitted to purchase items such as alcohol and cigarettes.

They are also not allowed to obtain cash from merchants in exchange for SNAP benefits. 

Mulqueen was arraigned in Clarkstown Town Court on the new charges and he next faces a hearing on July 8.

Mulqueen faces federal charges for threatening to kill federal officials and others, and separate state charges for criminal possession of a weapon. He was initially taken into custody on the state charges on Feb. 21, and was charged federally on March 26.

According to the federal charges, the Mulqueen posted numerous messages to his page on the online social networking site “Facebook,” threatening to kill members of the Congress, state and local elected officials, and others.

This fraud case was investigated by the Special Investigations Unit of the Rockland County District Attorney’s Office in conjunction with the Rockland County Department of Social Services and the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance Office of Audit and Quality Improvement. The case is being prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Ameenah Karim.