$4 million fraud scheme: Influencer had hundreds of fake SNAP accounts, prosecutors say

ATLANTA (Atlanta News First/Gray News) — An Atlanta social media influencer is accused of stealing millions of dollars in SNAP benefits, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Mercedes Reshard New, who goes by “Shawty Dred,” was indicted on federal charges for fraudulently obtaining more than $4 million in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia.

Fake accounts and fraudulent cards

Between January 2020 and July 2026, New allegedly controlled more than 350 fake SNAP accounts, which were created using stolen identities.

Prosecutors said New, 39, allegedly had SNAP EBT cards mailed to various metro Atlanta addresses and applied for his limited liability company, Shawty Dred LLC, to become an authorized SNAP retailer.

Between April 2024 and November 2025, New allegedly used fraudulently obtained EBT cards and a point-of-sale device associated with Shawty Dred LLC to steal more than $660,000 in SNAP benefits.

Store authorization revoked, arrest followed

In November 2025, the U.S. Department of Agriculture revoked New’s store authorization. About two weeks later, local police officers arrested New for allegedly selling SNAP benefits at a metro Atlanta store, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Officers seized 14 EBT cards from New that had been issued to other people. New then allegedly had replacement cards mailed to his store address and other addresses in the Atlanta area.

Investigators said the scheme diverted $4.6 million in SNAP funds. The EBT debit cards were used to siphon around $4 million from the accounts.

Indictment and arrest

New has flaunted private jets, fancy cars and stacks of cash to his millions of followers on TikTok and Instagram, as he denounced others as “broke motherf****s,” prosecutors said.

On Oct. 7, a federal grand jury indicted New on 46 counts of mail fraud, 15 counts of aggravated identity theft and one count each of SNAP fraud and illegal transactions with access devices.

New was arrested on Oct. 13 and remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending further proceedings.

“New allegedly stole over $4 million meant for poor families who need help putting food on the table,” U.S. Attorney Theodore Hertzberg said in a statement. “My office is fully committed to rooting out abuses of the SNAP program and holding accountable criminal con artists and scammers who appallingly seek to profit by stealing taxpayer money meant to feed vulnerable Americans.”

New was previously arrested in 2022 after he allegedly exposed himself in public.