BBQ restaurant owners sent to prison

MUSKEGON, Mich. (AP) - The owners of a Muskegon barbecue restaurant have been sentenced to prison for food stamp fraud.

A federal judge on Tuesday ordered 18 months for Ed Townsend and 15 months in custody for his wife Yvonne.

The government says they paid cash to food stamp recipients in exchange for a larger swipe of the electronic benefits card at their restaurant, Mr. T's.

The Townsends admit they also bought food stamp cards from people and used them to buy supplies for the restaurant. The loss to the government is pegged at $219,000.

Defense attorney John Beason says he'd hoped to keep the Townsends out of prison. He says they broke the law but were trying to help people with cash and keep the business afloat.