Food-stamp sting in Phoenix leads to arrest of 3

PHOENIX — Three men have been arrested on fraud charges involving food stamps.

Police raided a convenience store near 27th Avenue and Bethany Home Road on Wednesday and later searched the men’s Peoria home. Once there, authorities confiscated tens of thousands of dollars in cash, vehicles, ledgers, bank records and food-stamp cards.

Kameel Sweiss, 51, Faday Sweiss 33, and Ameer Sweiss, 22, who worked at the store, were charged with illegally conducting an enterprise, fraudulent schemes, money laundering, unlawful use of food stamps and computer tampering.

The state Attorney General’s office said the arrests came on the heels of a monthslong undercover operation shared among several local, state and federal agencies, including Phoenix Police and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.