Franklin Man Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud and Filing False Tax Returns

Brad D. Schimel, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that Nael Jabbar (age 47) of Franklin, Wisconsin, pled guilty on April 14, 2026, to one count of wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1341, and one count of filing a false tax return, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7206(1).

Since 2005, Jabbar owned and operated Hot Spot Super Market (Hot Spot) in Milwaukee, which was authorized to accept benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). He signed documents for Hot Spot agreeing to comply with all program requirements. From 2021 through 2024, he defrauded the program by exchanging benefits for cash, giving SNAP beneficiaries half of the transaction in cash while he billed the program for the full amount. The government will argue at sentencing that Jabbar's scheme caused a loss of more than $1.6 million.

Jabbar also signed and submitted to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) individual income tax returns (Forms 1040) that did not report all the income he received in 2020 through 2022. During those years, he transferred approximately $611,000 from business bank accounts to his personal accounts and then used the funds for personal expenses such as travel, vacations, retail purchases, and payments on personal loans and credit cards. Jabbar's filing of false Forms 1040 caused a total tax loss to the IRS of more than $87,000.

Jabbar's sentencing is scheduled for July 28, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. At sentencing, he faces up to twenty years in prison and a $250,000 fine on count one, as well as three years in prison and a $250,000 fine on count two. He also faces a term of supervised release after imprisonment.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General, and IRS, Criminal Investigation, investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney John P. Scully is prosecuting.

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Public Affairs Officer Steve Caballero

(414) 297-1700

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