Luxury Influencer Shawty Dred Charged in $4M Food Stamp Fraud Scheme

Luxury influencer Shawty Dred built a following showing off private jets, fancy cars, jewelry and stacks of cash.

Now federal prosecutors allege the social media star funded his lavish lifestyle with $4 million in fraudulent Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

The influencer, whose legal name is Mercedes Reshard New, was arrested on Oct. 13 in connection with an alleged multimillion-dollar food stamp fraud scheme. He remains jailed pending his next court appearance because prosecutors say he is a “serious” flight risk.

The Justice Department announced details on the case in an Oct. 21 press release.

Federal prosecutors said New, 39, faces a total 63 federal charges — 46 counts of mail fraud, 15 counts of aggravated identity theft, one count of SNAP fraud and one count of illegal transactions with access devices.

How the alleged scheme worked
Prosecutors said between January 2020 and July 2026, New controlled more than 350 fraudulent SNAP accounts created using stolen identities.

SNAP provides monthly food assistance through electronic benefit transfer or EBT cards — instead of the old food stamp coupons — that recipients can use at approved stores and restaurants.

Authorities said New arranged to have cards mailed to different addresses around metro Atlanta. He also allegedly applied to have his company, Shawty Dred LLC, become an authorized SNAP retailer.

That allegedly gave him a way to collect benefits through his own business. Prosecutors said he used fraudulently obtained cards and the company’s payment terminal to allegedly steal more than $660,000 between April 2024 and November 2025 alone.

According to prosecutors, approximately $4.6 million was transferred into the fraudulent accounts over the course of the scheme, with most of the money obtained through EBT transactions.

“New allegedly stole over $4 million meant for poor families who need help putting food on the table,” Theodore S. Hertzberg, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, said in a statement

Online records do not list an attorney for New and there’s been no statement on his social media accounts.

Phone calls raised suspicion
Investigators began looking into the case in 2025, after noticing suspicious activity involving the automated phone system SNAP recipients use to access their benefit accounts.

Phone numbers associated with New contacted the system more than 9,000 times and accessed over 350 accounts, according to the Justice Department.

New was previously arrested in November 2025 at a Walmart in East Point, Georgia. Fox 5 Atlanta reported police responded to the store after New allegedly approached shoppers, offered to swipe his fraudulent cards for their groceries, and took their cash. Police reportedly seized 14 EBT cards when he was arrested.

Flexing on social media
New flaunted his high-flying lifestyle to his more than 2 million Instagram followers by posting pictures and videos of diamond chains, Rolls-Royce and Maybach vehicles. He posed with celebrities including Kanye “Ye” West, and called the poor “broke motherf—s.” He would also post nude photos of himself on X.

In an August 2022 Instagram post, he showed off a gym bag filled with cash and wrote: “I got $1 million in cash at my private jet.”

Vice President J.D. Vance called out New during an Oct. 21 news conference in Cincinnati, Ohio about a nationwide crackdown targeting $42 million in alleged SNAP fraud.

Vance joked that his staff challenged him to say New’s nickname “Shawty” correctly.

“SNAP exists to help hungry children eat. It does not exist to provide private jets to a guy like Shawty Dred,” the VP said in a video posted to YouTube by Forbes.

Vance noted the influencer’s social media posts helped investigators connect the dots.

“Part of what helped us identify Shawty Dred is the guy’s posting Instagram videos, and we’re able to connect the money that he’s making with the money that he’s then using to go and buy seats on private jets and all these other things,” he said.