Former CPD officer gets 4 years in federal prison for bilking $14M from food stamps program

A former Chicago police officer was sentenced Tuesday to four years in prison for defrauding a low-income food program.

Prosecutors say Hassan “Eric” Abdellatif, 37, illegally billed $14 million to the federal Women, Infants and Children program, or WIC, as owner of the El Milagro Mini Market and Harding Grocery in Chicago.

Abdellatif, who lost his CPD job after his 2021 arrest, asked for mercy before U.S. District Judge Jorge L. Alonso delivered the ruling at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse. In addition to prison time, the judge ordered Abdellatif pay $8 million in restitution.

Defense attorneys said they were pleased Abdellatif got less than the 8 to 10 years federal prosecutors asked for. They said they would appeal the ruling.

“While we’re pleased the judge ruled substantially below the guidelines, my client will spend 4 years in prison and come out $8 million in debt,” Steven Hunter, one of Abdellatif’s attorneys in the case, told the Sun-Times after the hearing. “We’re not pleased about that.”

In 2021, Abdellatif was among nine owners and workers at several Chicago-area convenience stores charged with accepting checks from the WIC program for ineligible items at the stores, often at inflated prices.

After a jury trial last April, Abdellatif was convicted of wire fraud, fraudulently obtaining government benefits and failure to file government taxes.

Federal prosecutors said they calculated the extent of Abdellatif’s fraud by comparing his stores’ WIC billings to that of similar stores. The fraud happened from 2010 to 2018, prosecutors said. Abdellatif became an officer in 2018, two months after the fraud ended, according to prosecutors.

Abdellatif appeared for his sentencing in a gray suit as he frequently spoke with his attorneys, rubbed his hands and looked toward family members in attendance supporting him. At one point, he was seen looking to the ceiling and mouthing what appeared to be a prayer.

Abdellatif told the judge he already faced several consequences from his arrest and conviction, such as the loss of his police career and the emotional hardship brought onto his family.

“For all the pain and disappointment this caused … I am truly sorry,” Abdellatif said. “I regret the circumstances that brought me here.”

Prior to his ruling, the judge noted that Abdellatif is educated, hard working and supportive of his family.

“That bodes well for [his] rehabilitation,” the judge said.