The owner of a Santa Ana food truck has been charged with fraud for allegedly orchestrating a scheme to illegally traffic Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars. Esmeralda Soriano, 48, owner of Soriano Produce, faces two counts of illegal trafficking in SNAP benefits.
Federal officials became suspicious after Soriano Produce registered SNAP benefit redemptions that rivaled those of major grocery stores in the area, despite its relatively low profile. From April 2025 to April 2026, the food truck reported a dollar volume exceeding $640,000 in SNAP transactions. This figure was more than six times that of its nearest competitor and significantly higher than numerous other nearby vendors, whose average purchase amounts were below $55 during the same period.
Soriano Produce was the highest-redeeming SNAP benefits store in the area, processing over $640,000 in transactions, even with more than 9,700 fewer transactions than the closest store. The average transaction at Soriano Produce was $151.41, far exceeding the California average of $17.72 for a fruits-and-vegetables store.
Undercover operations revealed alleged fraudulent activity. In May, Soriano reportedly sold $100 in SNAP benefits to an undercover officer for $50 in cash. She is quoted as telling the officer, "If you come back, don’t ask my husband because he would not do it." Later that month, she allegedly charged an EBT card $172 and provided the officer with $80 in cash.
Investigators noted several red flags in the truck's transaction patterns. The business reportedly had only one scanner for all SNAP transactions, and records showed numerous back-to-back, high-dollar transactions. "Its lack of scanners coupled with consistent high-dollar transactions and rapid back-to-back transactions are indicators of possible fraud," according to the indictment.
During an undercover operation, agents observed that the food truck's checkout area contained both eligible food items and ineligible non-food items, such as housewares and toiletries, which cannot be purchased with SNAP benefits.
Esmeralda Soriano is scheduled for arraignment on August 13 in United States District Court in Los Angeles. She is currently out of custody on a $5,000 bond. If convicted of both charges, she could face up to 10 years in federal prison. This case comes as California grapples with an estimated tens of millions of dollars in SNAP fraud.