Shawty Dred Indicted on 63 Counts in Alleged SNAP Scheme

Atlanta influencer Mercedes Reshard New, known as Shawty Dred, was indicted on 63 federal counts in an alleged scheme involving more than 350 fraudulent Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program accounts, prosecutors said. The indictment was returned October 7, and New was arrested October 13. The charges have not been proven in court. The indictment includes 46 counts of mail fraud, 15 counts of aggravated identity theft, and one count each of SNAP fraud and illegal transactions with access devices. Prosecutors allege the scheme ran from January 2020 through July 2026 and used stolen identities to create accounts in Georgia’s food-assistance system. According to prosecutors, phone numbers linked to New contacted Georgia’s automated SNAP telephone system more than 9,000 times and accessed over 350 accounts. Benefit cards associated with the accounts were allegedly sent to addresses around metro Atlanta. Prosecutors also allege New registered his company, Shawty Dred LLC, as an authorized SNAP retailer. They say he used fraudulently obtained cards and a payment device associated with the business to obtain more than $660,000 in benefits between April 2024 and November 2025. The...