The Brief Federal prosecutors indicted 39-year-old Atlanta social media influencer Mercedes New, known online as  Shawty Dred,  in a massive food assistance fraud scheme. Authorities allege New controlled more than 350 fraudulent SNAP accounts using stolen identities, siphoning roughly $4 million in taxpayer-funded benefits. Investigators said New used the stolen funds to bankroll a luxury lifestyle featured on Instagram and TikTok, including private jets and exotic cars.



An Atlanta social media personality known online as  Shawty Dred  has been arrested on federal charges accusing him of running a $4 million food stamp fraud scheme to finance an extravagant lifestyle, federal authorities said.

What we know:

A federal grand jury indicted 39-year-old Mercedes Reshard New on Oct. 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. Federal agents arrested New on Oct. 13.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia, New controlled more than 350 fraudulent Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) accounts created using stolen identities between January 2020 and July 2026.

Prosecutors allege New had electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards mailed to various metro Atlanta addresses and registered his business, Shawty Dred LLC, as an authorized SNAP retailer. Between April 2024 and November 2025, New allegedly used fraudulent EBT cards and a card reader registered to his company to swipe and steal more than $660,000 in benefits.

In November 2025, the USDA revoked his store's authorization. Two weeks later, local police arrested New for allegedly selling SNAP benefits at a metro Atlanta store and seized 14 EBT cards issued in other people's names. Investigators said New immediately ordered replacement cards sent to his business and other Atlanta addresses to keep the scheme going.

Over the course of the six-year operation, prosecutors said New duped the Georgia Division of Family   Children Services (DFCS) into transferring approximately $4.6 mi
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