Macon food mart manager pleads guilty in food stamp scheme

A Macon convenience store manager pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to defrauding a food stamp program.

Between October 2010 and January 2015, while working at the Midway Market at 3255 Houston Ave., Michael Paul Atkinson Jr. redeemed $5 million in benefits, authorities said.

It was not clear how much of that was done illegally, but the scheme involved paying food stamp recipients cash for their stamps or allowing them to use benefits to buy ineligible items.

Atkinson, 38, will be sentenced in June. He faces a maximum prison term of 20 years.

This story was originally published March 31, 2016 at 9:27 PM with the headline "Macon food mart manager pleads guilty in food stamp scheme ."