HUDSON COUNTY — Three Hudson County brothers appeared in federal court yesterday on charges of an alleged conspiracy to sell approximately $135,000 worth of allegedly stolen baby formula out of a supermarket in Union City.
Hamad Siyam, 52, and Ali Siyam, 49, both of North Bergen, and Rawhi Siyam, 44, of West New York, allegedly sold the formula from September through December of last year out of Los Hermanos Supermarket on Bergenline Avenue at 26th Street, which Ali Siyam owns.
According to the complaint, each man is charged with conspiracy to receive stolen goods and launder money, but Ali Siyam is additionally charged with structuring cash deposits to avoid federal reporting requirements.
The baby formula was allegedly stolen from retail outlets in the South and subsequently repackaged and driven to New Jersey under the direction of the Siyams, according to the complaint.
The government will seek forfeiture of the business, says the complaint, which also says that a participant in the alleged conspiracy told law enforcement that the sale of stolen goods at the supermarket has been going on for years.
The extended Siyam family has also been under suspicion of TD Bank for the movement of excessive funds between family members’ accounts and to countries such as Palestine, Israel, Jordan, and Antigua, the complaint says.