Federal prosecutors announced charges Wednesday against Shawty Dred, an Atlanta-based social media figure, accusing him of stealing more than $4 million in food stamp benefits.
Authorities said the man — whose real name is Mercedes Reshard New — collected money from more than 350 food stamp accounts that were based on stolen identities.
Mr. New’s arrest was credited to President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance’s new anti-fraud task force, which produced a nationwide sweep of nearly $42 million in food stamp fraud.
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“Instead of this money feeding families in need, New allegedly used the cash to bankroll a life of luxury,” said Marlo Graham, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Atlanta office.
Prosecutors said he had paraded his extravagant lifestyle on his Instagram account, richlifeshawtydred, which boasts more than 2 million followers.
Posts depict him flying on private jets, posing with Rolls-Royce and Maybach vehicles, money spreading and calling other people “broke motherf——s.”
He “flaunted his luxurious living off fraudulent proceeds on Instagram and TikTok like there’s nothing ‘New’ under the sun,” USDA Inspector General John Walk said in a statement.
Also charged in the sweep were Jorag Yaseen and Rami Kanaan in Ohio. They were accused of operating retail stores that accepted stolen food stamps.
They were charged with bilking the government of nearly $30 million.
In Mr. New’s case, he also applied to have his own company, Shawty Dred LLC, become an authorized vendor for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which is the official name for food stamps.
Between January 2020 and July 2026, he allegedly controlled more than 350 fraudulent SNAP accounts that were created using stolen identities.
His firm was authorized for a year and a half before the Agriculture Department booted it from the program.
Investigators discovered that more than 500 Georgia EBT cards, debit card-like stipends for food stamps, are linked to Mr. New.
A federal grand jury indicted him for criminal food stamp fraud, mail fraud, access device fraud and aggravated identity theft on Oct. 7.
Previously, in November 2025, Mr. New was arrested at Walmart in East Point, Georgia, for soliciting customers to buy SNAP EBT cards from him.
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