ATLANTA INFLUENCER CHARGED IN $4.6 MILLION SNAP FRAUD SCHEME WHILE FLAUNTING JETS, ROLLS-ROYCES, AND BURNING CASH
Atlanta social media personality Mercedes Reshard New, known as Shawty Dred, stands accused of running a years-long scheme that siphoned millions in taxpayer-funded food benefits meant for low-income families. Federal prosecutors say the 39-year-old controlled more than 350 fraudulent Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program accounts created with stolen Georgia identities between January 2020 and July 2026.
Authorities allege New arranged for electronic benefit transfer cards to be mailed to multiple metro Atlanta addresses and registered his company, Shawty Dred LLC, as an authorized SNAP retailer. Between April 2024 and November 2025, he allegedly used those cards and a point-of-sale device tied to his business to swipe more than $660,000. After the USDA revoked the store’s authorization in November 2025, local police arrested him for selling SNAP benefits and seized 14 EBT cards issued in other people’s names. Prosecutors say he immediately ordered replacement cards to keep the operation going.
In total, the scheme is accused of diverting roughly $4.6 million into fraudulent accounts, with about $4 million siphoned out. Throughout it all, New posted private jet rides, Rolls-Royce and Maybach vehicles, and massive stacks of cash—including images of him setting money on fire—to an Instagram account with more than two million followers while calling others broke.
A federal grand jury indicted him on October 7 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. Agents arrested him on October 13. He remains in federal custody pending further proceedings. The charges are allegations, and he is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg stated that New allegedly stole over $4 million meant for poor families who need help putting food on the table. Hertzberg added that his office is fully committed to rooting out abuses of the SNAP program and holding accountable criminal con artists and scammers who seek to profit by stealing taxpayer money meant to feed vulnerable Americans.
USDA Inspector General John Walk said Mr. Shawty Dred allegedly stole food assistance benefits in Georgia from the poorest Americans and then flaunted his luxurious living off fraudulent proceeds on Instagram and TikTok. Walk noted that in alignment with the leadership of Vice President Vance and the White House Task Force on Fraud, officials do not look the other way when fraudsters get rich off exploiting poverty.
Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta Marlo Graham stated that instead of this money feeding families in need, New allegedly used the cash to bankroll a life of luxury, and the FBI will aggressively pursue anyone who exploits these programs for personal gain.
The case forms part of a broader federal crackdown. Vice President JD Vance’s anti-fraud task force and the Department of Justice announced the results of a seven-week surge that uncovered nearly $42 million in SNAP fraud across multiple districts, involving more than 40 defendants. Attorney General Todd Blanche said 220,000 Americans could have eaten for the entire month of October if not for that $42 million in fraud. Vance remarked that SNAP exists to help hungry children eat and does not exist to provide private jets to a guy like Shawty Dred.
The investigation was conducted by the USDA Office of Inspector General and the FBI, with assistance from the Georgia Department of Human Services Office of Inspector General.
SOURCES
U.S. Department of Justice, Northern District of Georgia press release, October 21, 2026
New York Post, October 21, 2026
FOX 5 Atlanta, October 21, 2026
Atlanta News First, October 21, 2026
CBS Atlanta, October 21, 2026
The Washington Times, October 21, 2026