An Ohio man has been arrested and charged with defrauding a Missouri-based grocery chain of more than $15 million in groceries and inventory. Muhammad Babar Chaudhry, 46, who owns Sunshine Stores LLC in southern Ohio, was indicted on four counts of wire fraud by a federal grand jury in St. Louis on July 23. He was taken into custody Wednesday night and appeared Friday for a detention hearing in U.S. District Court in Detroit, where he was ordered held until trial.
According to the indictment, the Missouri grocery chain licensed its brand to 38 stores operated by Chaudhry starting in May 2021 and supplied those locations with goods. In March 2023, Chaudhry allegedly ordered $7.6 million worth of groceries from the Missouri company without intending to pay for them. The following month, he placed another order valued at $7.5 million under similar pretenses.
The indictment further alleges that Chaudhry misled the victim company about payment status by instructing an employee to falsely claim he was out of the country and later blame “fraudulent activity” for nonpayment. Prosecutors say Chaudhry also emptied his bank accounts so that funds could not be withdrawn by the supplier and then falsely asserted that payments were being wired.
A motion seeking pretrial detention claims that Chaudhry stole copper from one store—a loss estimated at $1 million—and had concrete poured down sinks and drains at several locations owned by the victim company.
“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.”
Wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison as well as a possible fine of $250,000 or both.
The case is being investigated by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman is prosecuting.
