LYNCHBURG, Va. (WSET) — The owner of a Lynchburg business pleaded guilty to federal food stamp fraud on March 3, 2026.
59-year-old Rajan Babbar, the owner of Taste of India grocery store, pleaded guilty to one count of fraud regarding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and one count of transacting in criminally derived property.
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Taste of India was approved as a SNAP retailer in December of 2016. Beginning around April of 2021, investigators allege that SNAP sales at the grocery store dramatically increased. The Department of Justice said that in 2018, Taste of India was bringing in an average of around $2,600 a month in SNAP transactions. By 2023, that average had risen to $65,000, an approximately 2,500 percent increase.
The DOJ said Babbar admitted to allowing people to exchange their…
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