*Atlanta social media personality Mercedes Reshard New, known online as “Shawty Dred,” is in federal custody. He faces charges of stealing roughly $4 million in food assistance meant for low-income families, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia.
A federal grand jury indicted New, 39, on Oct. 7. He faces 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. Authorities arrested him on Oct. 13, and he remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Prosecutors say his online image helped tell the story. New’s Instagram page, followed by more than 2 million people, features private jets, Rolls-Royces, Maybachs and piles of cash. In some posts, he insults others as “broke [expletive].”
“Instead of this money feeding families in need, New allegedly used the cash to bankroll a life of luxury,” said Marlo Graham, special agent in charge of FBI Atlanta.
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According to the indictment, New ran more than 350 bogus Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program accounts opened with stolen identities between January 2020 and July 2026. The benefit cards tied to those accounts were allegedly sent to addresses across metro Atlanta.
Prosecutors say New also got his company, Shawty Dred LLC, approved to accept SNAP payments. He then allegedly ran the stolen cards through the company’s payment terminal, pulling in more than $660,000 between April 2024 and November 2025.
The USDA pulled that approval in November 2025. Roughly two weeks later, local police arrested New on accusations of selling SNAP benefits at an Atlanta-area store and took 14 benefit cards belonging to other people. Prosecutors say he simply had new cards mailed out.
Altogether, about $4.6 million allegedly flowed into the fake accounts, and around $4 million was withdrawn.
“New allegedly stole over $4 million meant for poor families who need help putting food on the table,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg.
“We’re talking about money that is earmarked for hungry families, for hungry children, so that families can put food on the table. And he used it instead to line his own pockets,” Hertzberg told Fox affiliate WAGA. “He called other people broke [expletive], bragging about all of this ill-gotten game that he had. Really disgusting behavior.”
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