Carbondale store owner sentenced to 46-month imprisonment and ordered to pay over $560,000 in restitution for fraudulent SNAP benefits scheme

BENTON, Ill. – A federal district judge sentenced a Carbondale store owner to 46 months’ imprisonment after he admitted to fraudulently acquiring Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program (“SNAP”) benefits he and his store were not entitled to receive. Dean A. Amley, 61, pleaded guilty in March 2025 to one count for Conspiracy to Commit Food Stamp Fraud, one count of Unauthorized Acquisition of SNAP Benefits, and seven counts of Money Laundering. Following imprisonment, Amley will serve 3 years on supervised release. The judge also ordered Amley to pay $564,936.19 in restitution. From March 1, 2014 to December 21, 2020, Amley along with his employees operated a business in Carbondale, Illinois known as East Main Shell, Inc. d/b/a Egyptian Corner. During this time, Amley and his employees conducted a fraudulent scheme whereby Amley would purchase SNAP benefits from their customers and then unlawfully use those SNAP benefits to purchase inventory for Egyptian Corner. Amley also permitted customers to unlawfully use SNAP benefits to purchase prohibited or ineligible items such as tobacco products and alcoholic beverages.