United States of America, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Lester Smith and Molly Smith, Defendants-appellants, 572 F.2d 1089 (5th Cir. 1978)

Appellant, Lester Smith, owned and operated L & M Market, a local retail grocery store, as sole proprietor, at 7501 N.W. 22nd Avenue, Miami, Florida. In such capacity he was authorized under the provisions of Title 7, U.S.C.A. P 2017, et seq. and Regulations pursuant thereto, 7 CFR 272.1 et seq., to accept and redeem coupons under the food stamp program of the Department of Agriculture in accordance with such statutes enacted by Congress and the Regulations issued by such Department. His wife, appellant Molly (Mollie) Smith, worked for him as cashier in the store. She was an employee and did not own an interest in the L & M Market.

On October 29, 1973, Lester pleaded guilty and was convicted of the offense of knowingly acquiring and possessing food coupons at the L & M Market in a manner not authorized by the Food Stamp Act of 1964, Title 7, U.S.C., § 2011 et seq., in exchange for merchandise, in violation of Title 7, U.S.C., § 2023(b) and was placed on probation for a period of one year. Molly was not a party to that proceeding and was not involved therein.

Thereafter, the Department of Agriculture, acting through the Food and Nutrition Service^S  determined that the firm of Lester Smith, doing business as L & M Market, was disqualified from the Food Stamp Program for a period of one year because of his participation in six violative transactions described in a letter of charges issued by

Lester Smith, d/b/a L & M Market, was allowed under the Regulations to continue to accept food stamps during the pendency of his administrative and judicial reviews. Finally, when he had exhausted his administrative and judicial appeals, the

It will be noted that the statement is written in the first person and is signed by Lester Smith as owner of "my store, L & M Grocery and Market."³  Molly Smith is shown to have signed the statement as a duly authorized representative. Lester Smith is the only person shown to be disqualified for one year, beginning May 10, 1976, from accepting food stamp coupons.

While in the store, the agent remarked to Lester that he was only "doing his job," whereupon, Lester said, "Don't worry about me. I have an ace in the hole." This statement by Lester becomes important when considered with subsequent events discussed below.

On June 28, 1976, appellant Molly Smith obtained a charter from the State of Florida for a corporation known as Progressive Marketing Company, Incorporated, which was authorized, among other transactions, to operate grocery stores, markets, and other retail outlets. The charter shows that the corporation was to have 50 shares of capital stock without nominal or par value and was to have capital of $500. The charter shows further that Molly Smith had "agreed to take" 10 shares of stock, and that the 3 directors and officers were:

Mollie Lee Smith, President

Columbus Smith, Secretary/Treasurer

Rosa Bell Smith, Vice-president⁴ 

Lester Smith d/b/a L & M Market executed and delivered a bill of sale to the corporation on June 28, 1976, whereby in consideration of $10 and O G and VC⁵  he sold "The entire stock, inventory, and equipment of L & M Market (inventory attached)" to the corporation.

The inventory attached to the bill of sale is dated 3-8-74, more than 2 years prior to the date of the bill of sale. It only lists various items of furniture and equipment, such as cases, freezers, cooler, shelving and counters. The stock of goods and merchandise on hand were not listed or mentioned in the inventory. The trade name, goodwill, and business of L & M Market were not mentioned in the bill of sale or inventory.

On June 29, 1976, appellant, Mollie Lee Smith, in her capacity as president, filed an application for the corporation with the

No food stamps were accepted at the store between May 10, 1976, and June 29, 1976, the date of the filing of the corporation's application. However, food stamps were accepted after June 29, 1976. Molly Smith testified that she thought the corporation was eligible to receive the coupons after it filed its application for authority to participate in the program.

Lester and Molly Smith continued working in the store after the transfer to the corporation in the same manner as they had worked for Lester Smith d/b/a L & M Market. There was no change in the appearance of the building. The old "L & M Market" sign painted on the front of the building was not changed. Newspaper advertisements in the Miami Times of July 15 and July 31, 1976, which are in evidence, appeared in the name of "L & M Market." Both advertisements contained the statement "We accept Food Stamps" and gave the address of the old L & M Market.

The

"Mrs. Mollie Lee Smith, President

Progressive Marketing Co., Inc. d/b/a

L & M Grocery

7501 N.W. 22nd Avenue

Miami, Florida 33147

Dear Mrs. Smith:

This is to notify you that your application for participation as an authorized retailer in the Food Stamp Program dated June 29, 1976, is denied. This determination is based on the fact that:

It is our finding that approval of your request for authorization to participate in the Food Stamp Program would not effectuate the purpose of the program. Although you state that your corporation has purchased L & M Grocery, you have not provided a bill of sale to show that the store has changed ownership. Furthermore, L & M Grocery, under the ownership of your husband, Lester Smith, was disqualified from the Food Stamp Program for a period of one year effective May 10, 1976, because of the participation of you and your husband in six violative transactions as outlined to your husband in our letter of charges of May 10, 1974. Therefore, we view your application as an attempt to circumvent the disqualification determined by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, and your application is denied."

After receiving this denial, the corporation requested administrative review and furnished the

In the meantime, Lester and Molly Smith continued to accept food stamps at the store, notwithstanding the fact that the application of the corporation had been denied. Undercover agents of the

Based on the foregoing purchases, the appellant, Lester Smith, was indicted on 5 counts of unlawfully accepting food stamps, and appellant, Molly Smith, on 3 counts of unlawfully accepting food stamps, all in violation of Title 7, U.S.C., § 2023(b). The appellants were tried together before a jury. At the close of the evidence, and after hearing the court's charge and argument of counsel, the jury returned a verdict of guilty with respect to Lester Smith on counts 1, 3, 5, and 8, and not guilty as to count 6. With respect to Molly Smith, the jury returned a verdict of guilty as to count 2, and not guilty as to counts 4 and 7. Whereupon, the court sentenced Lester Smith to one year confinement on counts 1, 3, 5, and 8, to run concurrently, with confinement of 3 months in a jail-type institution and the remainder of the sentence suspended, and after discharge he was to be placed on probation for 2 years. The court withheld a sentence of confinement of Molly Smith as to count 2 and placed her on probation for 2 years. Both Lester and Molly Smith appealed their convictions to this court.

Each of the counts in the indictment as to both appellants are alike and charge that on a designated date one or the other appellant (naming him or her) did knowingly, wilfully and unlawfully accept, acquire, and possess food coupons (issued by the Food and Nutrition Service of the Department of Agriculture) of a value less than $100.00, in a manner not authorized by the Food Stamp Act of 1964, Title 7, United States Code, Section 2011, et seq., or the regulations issued pursuant to said Act by accepting $40.00 in Food Stamp Coupons from a Special Agent of the United States Department of Agriculture in exchange for merchandise after having previously been lawfully disqualified from participation in the Food Stamp Program for a period of one year commencing May 10, 1976; all in violation of Title 7, United States Code, Section 2023(b)⁶ .

As pointed out above, prior to October 29, 1973, when Lester Smith pleaded guilty to a charge of violating the Food Stamp Act of 1964, he had made application to theOn May 10, 1976, he was disqualified from further participation in the food stamp program under the authority of Title 7, U.S.C., § 2020 and the Regulations issued thereunder.⁸ 

During oral argument before us, counsel for the Government contended that authority to participate in the food stamp program is granted to a "retail food store," namely, a physical building structure and not to a person or other legal entity. He made the same argument as to the disqualification of a "retail food store." We do not agree. Section 2017, supra, requires that a person or other legal entity must file an application for authorization to participate in the program, and, in connection therewith, must furnish certain information. Obviously, this could not be done by a building, but must be done by the person or firm doing business in the building. The Regulations are even clearer in this regard than the Statutes. Such Regulations refer to applicants as "firms."⁹ 

The Regulations also refer to retail food stores as "firms" in connection with their disqualification to participate further in the program and with reference to requests for review. See 7 CFR 272.6 and 7 CFR 273.5.¹⁰ 

We hold that the term "retail food store" in the Statutes and Regulations involved here means the owner and operator of a firm doing a retail food business in a building at a designated location, whether the owner is a sole proprietorship, a partnership, a corporation, or some other legal entity.

Applying these principles to the instant case we conclude that the retail food store involved here was Lester Smith doing business as L & M Market as sole proprietor, in a building located at the designated address. In such capacity, he alone was authorized to participate in the food stamp program. He alone pleaded guilty to the charge of violating the Food Stamp Act in 1973 and by reason thereof he alone was disqualified from participating in the program as L & M Market for one year beginning May 10, 1976.¹¹ 

We now reach the question of whether or not the convictions and sentences of the appellants should be affirmed. We consider first the case against Lester Smith.¹²  There is no question about the fact that he was disqualified for one year beginning May 10, 1976, from accepting food stamps as the owner and sole proprietor of L & M Market. It is also undisputed that he accepted food stamps in the L & M Market building during the year of his disqualification on the dates alleged in the indictment. The only question is whether he accepted the food stamps in the capacity of Lester Smith d/b/a L & M Market or in the capacity of an employee of Progressive Marketing Company, Incorporated. There is sufficient evidence, though it is not overwhelming, to support a belief and finding by the jury beyond a reasonable doubt that the transfer of the L & M Market to the corporation was not an arm's length transaction, but was Lester Smith's "ace in the hole," and was a sham and a subterfuge to avoid Lester Smith's disqualification. The

"---(W)e view your application as an attempt to circumvent the disqualification determined by the U. S. Department of Agriculture. ---"

The pertinent facts surrounding the transfer of L & M Market to the corporation are fully described above and will not be repeated here. The jury could have concluded that the transfer was not a bona fide transaction, though the Government's case could have been stronger in that regard. Under such circumstances, the transfer was a nullity as far as this case is concerned and the continued operation of the store after the alleged transfer must be deemed to have been by the owner Lester Smith d/b/a L & M Market. Therefore, the jury correctly found him guilty of violating the Food Stamp Act of 1964 as charged in counts 1, 3, 5 and 8 of the indictment. His conviction and sentence should be affirmed.

The case against Molly Smith is quite different to that against Lester Smith. It will be recalled that she was not the owner of L & M Market and had never been authorized or qualified to participate in the food stamp program. She was not disqualified for a period of one year from participation in the food stamp program, nor for any other period of time, as she had never been a participant in the program. She worked as an employee of Lester Smith d/b/a L & M Market in the L & M Market building. Yet she was indicted and found guilty as to count 2 of the indictment which charged:

"COUNT II

On or about September 16, 1976, at Miami, Florida, in the Southern District of Florida, the defendant, MOLLY SMITH, did knowingly, wilfully and unlawfully accept, acquire and possess food coupons (issued by the Food and Nutrition Service of the United States Department of Agriculture) of a value less than $100.00, in a manner not authorized by the Food Stamp Act of 1964, Title 7, United States Code, Section 2011, et seq., or the regulations issued pursuant to said Act by accepting $38.00 in Food Stamp Coupons from a Special Agent of the United States Department of Agriculture in exchange for merchandise after having previously been lawfully disqualified from participation in the Food Stamp Program for a period of one year commencing May 10, 1976; all in violation of Title 7, United States Code, Section 2023(b)."

As may be seen from the indictment, Molly Smith was charged with unlawfully accepting food coupons "in a manner not authorized by the Food Stamp Act of 1964," "by accepting $38.00 in food stamp coupons in exchange for merchandise after having previously been lawfully disqualified from participation in the Food Stamp Program for a period of one year commencing May 10, 1976." (Emphasis supplied.)

There was no evidence that Molly Smith was ever disqualified from participation in the food stamp program for a period of one year as charged in the indictment. The signing of the statement regarding the lost authorization card by her in a representative capacity was not enough to disqualify her for one year along with Lester Smith. The district attorney argued that this part of the indictment was surplusage and that Molly Smith could be convicted on the words "in a manner not authorized by the Food Stamp Act of 1964" in the indictment. We do not agree. This would amount to taking the words out of context. The main thrust of the indictment and the gravamen of the charge was accepting food stamps during a disqualification period. The indictment was specific on this point. It described and detailed the "manner not authorized" when it said "by accepting" the coupons during a one-year period of disqualification. It was incumbent on the prosecution to prove the allegations in the indictment beyond a reasonable doubt. It wholly failed to do so. The trial court should have granted Molly Smith's motion for acquittal. Her conviction and sentence must be set aside and the case against her dismissed.

Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of conviction and sentence of Lester Smith. We set aside and vacate the judgment of conviction and sentence of Molly Smith and remand that part of the case to the trial court with instructions to dismiss the case against her.

AFFIRMED in part and REVERSED in part.