Federal charges filed in $4 million food aid case after image circulates online
A photo of a man charged in a SNAP fraud case was posted by the Agriculture Department days before the midterm elections.
By Sergio Ramirez ·
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins posted a photo to X on Saturday showing a Black man holding a bill in flames in front of stacks of what appear to be U.S. currency, with the words SNAP FRAUDSTER above him and a fake Spirit Halloween costume package behind him. The text over the image reads, "Some costumes come with a price tag. This one comes with a prison sentence."
The man in the image is Mercedes Reshard New, a social media personality known as Shawty Dred, whom the Justice Department arrested Oct. 13 on federal charges. Federal prosecutors say New obtained more than $4 million in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. He was indicted by a federal grand jury Oct. 7 on dozens of counts of mail fraud and aggravated identity theft, plus one count each of SNAP fraud and illegal transactions with access devices. He remains in federal custody.
Federal prosecutors said in a news release dated Oct. 21 that New controlled more than 350 fraudulent SNAP accounts under stolen identities from January 2020 through July 2026. They said he applied for his company, Shawty Dred LLC, to become an authorized SNAP retailer and used EBT debit cards to pull about $4 million from those accounts. His Instagram account has more than two million followers.
"Instead of this money feeding families in need, New, the social media personality known as 'Shawty Dred,' allegedly used the cash to bankroll a life of luxury," said Marlo Graham, special agent in charge of FBI Atlanta, in the release.
The post from Rollins, whom Trump nominated in November 2024 to serve as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, appears to have been taken from an Instagram post dated September 2025 from an account under the name Shawty Dred. Federal court records list Joseph Austin as New's defender; Austin did not return a phone message. The NAACP, the White House and Rollins did not respond to emails seeking comment.
The White House posted a separate image Thursday on X showing a pumpkin with a sombrero shape carved into it and the words "Spooky szn is here." The posts appeared days before the midterm elections as the administration publicized immigration enforcement actions and fraud cases. Federal prosecutors said Oct. 21 that New was indicted on the charges described above.
The White House has faced criticism for official account posts before. During the government shutdown just over a year ago, the White House repeatedly played a deepfake video posted by Trump showing House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries in a fake mustache and sombrero. Jeffries called the meme bigoted. Vice President JD Vance said the sombrero memes would stop once Democrats agreed to end the shutdown.
The administration has also taken steps tied to fraud allegations in mostly Democratic-led states. Federal agents searched the Washington, D.C., home of U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar earlier this month, and federal authorities are investigating potential fraud in her family's immigration paperwork. Omar was born in Somalia and is a naturalized U.S. citizen. Governors of California and Minnesota said the federal government targeted their states for political reasons. Fulton County jail records show New has been arrested several times on suspicion of identity theft, insurance fraud, financial transaction card fraud, forgery and simple assault.
