North Hollywood : 4 Plead No Contest in Food Stamp Case

Four east San Fernando Valley residents pleaded no contest this week to illegally dealing in food stamps last month outside a North Hollywood check-cashing business that issues food stamps, according to the Los Angeles city attorney’s office.

Arnulfo Francisco Tamayo, 47, of Van Nuys, and Danilo Moran, 38, of Sun Valley, were accused of selling clothing for food stamps, while Blanca Estela Hernandez, 34, of Van Nuys, and Ana Patricia Molina, 30, of North Hollywood, were charged with buying clothing for food stamps, said Mike Qualls, spokesman for Los Angeles City Atty. Jim Hahn.

Tamayo was sentenced Thursday to 20 days on a Caltrans work crew, and Moran, Hernandez and Molina were ordered to pay a total of $2,430 in fines for the unauthorized use of food stamps, Qualls said.

On Jan. 5, investigators from the Los Angeles district attorney’s food stamp trafficking unit watched as Molina bought two dresses from Tamayo and one dress from Moran for $39 in food stamps on the sidewalk of the 12800 block of Sherman Way, Qualls said.

Investigators also saw Hernandez buy three dresses from Tamayo for $15 in food stamps at the same location, he said.

Moran was ordered to pay a $1,350 fine, while Hernandez and Molina were each fined $540, according to the city attorney’s office. All four were also ordered to stay away from the business and forbidden to possess any food stamps that were not legally issued to them.

A fifth person, Josefina Funes, 30, of Hollywood, is also charged with illegal use of food stamps and is accused of working with Tamayo and Moran, Qualls said. Funes pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to appear in a Van Nuys courtroom on Feb. 29.