KERMIT, W.Va. — A Mingo County grocery store is under investigation for food stamp fraud.

Mountain Top News has obtained a copy of a search warrant in the federal investigation of T&K Grocery in Kermit.

The store first began accepting SNAP payments in 2020 and reported at that time an average of nearly $36,000 in grocery sales each month. Once the store began accepting SNAP payments, SNAP redemptions rose at a steady pace until reaching a peak of more than $80,000 in August of 2022.

In 2020, the store reported having $430,000 in eligible food sales, but redeemed more than $720,000 in SNAP payments. In total, investigators say T&K Grocery took in more than $1.5 million in SNAP payments over a 27-month period.

Investigators looking into the case arranged a number of undercover buys at the store, during which customers were able to buy cigarettes, THC gummies, cat food, toilet paper and other non-grocery items with the EBT cards. In some cases, witnesses said they were able to pay their rent or get cash from from the SNAP cards.

Court records indicate the property was searched on June 22, at which time police seized business records, computers and video equipment.

There is no indication that any criminal or civil proceedings have been initiated in the case at this time.