An Ohio man has been arrested on charges of defrauding a Missouri grocery chain out of more than $15 million in groceries and inventory. Muhammad Babar Chaudhry, 46, was indicted on July 23 in U.S. District Court in St. Louis with four counts of wire fraud and taken into custody Wednesday night.
According to the indictment, Chaudhry owns Sunshine Stores LLC, a grocery chain based in southern Ohio. The document states that beginning in May 2021, the Missouri-based grocery company licensed its brand to 38 stores operated by Chaudhry and supplied those locations with goods.
The indictment alleges that in March 2023, Chaudhry ordered $7.6 million worth of groceries and inventory from the Missouri chain without intending to pay for them. He allegedly placed an additional order for $7.5 million in April 2023 and repeatedly misled the victim company about payments. According to prosecutors, one employee was instructed to claim that Chaudhry was out of the country; later, another explanation cited “fraudulent activity” as the reason for nonpayment.
Prosecutors further allege that Chaudhry intentionally emptied his bank accounts so the Missouri company could not recover funds through withdrawals and then falsely claimed he had wired payment.
A motion filed by prosecutors seeking pretrial detention states that Chaudhry also stole copper from one store—an act expected to cost $1 million to repair—and poured concrete down sinks and drains at some of the victim’s grocery stores.
“Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.”
If convicted on wire fraud charges, a defendant faces up to 20 years imprisonment, a fine up to $250,000 or both.
The FBI investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman is prosecuting it.
