After a prominent conservative influencer accused the market of fraud, Lam’s Seafood Asian Market is now fighting to preserve its reputation.
SEATTLE — A grocery store in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District says it is losing customers, seeing sales decline and fielding angry calls after a viral social media video accused the business of participating in food stamp fraud.
The operations manager of Lam’s Seafood Asian Market, a fixture in the Chinatown-International District that has operated for more than three decades, said the backlash has been unlike anything the business has experienced before.
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“We had people calling and cursing us over the phone, saying we’re cheating customers,” said Teizi Mersai, the market’s operations manager.
Mersai said the fallout quickly extended beyond social media.
“The worst thing that really hurt is when an actual customer calls and says, ‘I’ve shopped with you guys for years. I’m never coming back,'” Mersai said. “Those are the ones that really sting.”
Mersai said revenue declined roughly 8% to 10% in the days following the video’s release and that the store saw a noticeable drop in customer traffic.
The controversy stems from a viral video created by conservative social media personality and self-described independent journalist Nick Shirley. In the video, Shirley purchases food stamps, also known as an EBT card, from a woman on the street before accompanying her to Lam’s Seafood Asian Market, where he alleges the store participated in a food stamp trafficking scheme.
At the center of the dispute is a transaction Shirley portrayed as a customer paying roughly $120 for a single can of luncheon meat and another food item.
But a closer look at the video tells a different story, according to Mersai.
The register screen visible in Shirley’s own footage shows the customer was being charged for an entire case containing 24 cans of luncheon meat, not a single can. The woman can also be heard speaking Vietnamese with the cashier and requesting a full case before the purchase is completed.
Mersai says those details were left out of the video’s portrayal of the transaction and helped fuel public outrage against the store.
Following the video’s release, Shirley tagged the FBI, Department of Justice and White House on social media, calling for Lam’s Seafood to be investigated and shut down.
The store later posted its own social media response disputing the allegations.
Shirley subsequently defended his reporting in an Instagram post, writing that Lam’s had been “notorious for years” as a location where food stamp fraud occurs and arguing that store leaders were focused on whether he correctly identified the food products rather than on the underlying fraud.
Mersai said Lam’s has been associated with stories involving EBT trafficking before, largely because of its location, but believes the current controversy has caused the most damage.
“It’s not the first time, but this is the worst one because it’s a video from a guy who has millions of followers,” Mersai said.
While defending the store against allegations of wrongdoing, Mersai acknowledged EBT trafficking remains a real problem at Lam’s Seafood.
“One hundred percent,” he said.
In fact, Mersai said Lam’s has spent years reporting suspected trafficking activity to authorities.
He provided KING 5 with a 2022 email sent to the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services warning that people were openly approaching customers near the store to buy and sell EBT benefits. He also showed KING 5 photographs of individuals he says were caught selling EBT benefits and were subsequently banned from the store.
Mersai believes the market’s location is one reason Lam’s repeatedly becomes part of the conversation surrounding EBT fraud.
The store sits about a block from 12th Avenue South and South Jackson Street, the same intersection where Shirley filmed himself purchasing the EBT card featured in his video.
The area has long been associated with open-air drug activity, homelessness and food stamp trafficking.
Mersai said the conditions have forced Lam’s to make significant investments in security.
The market has installed surveillance cameras, security fencing and razor wire around portions of the property.
“We’d have to use a pressure washer with all the human waste from our sidewalks,” Mersai said. “It was terrible.”
Despite the challenges, Mersai said the store has no plans to stop accepting EBT benefits.
Some community members have suggested the market discontinue the program because of its association with trafficking activity, he said.
Mersai rejects that idea.
He described the surrounding neighborhood as economically depressed and said many residents depend on food assistance to feed their families. He also noted that Lam’s is one of only a handful of full-service Asian grocery stores in the area where customers can use food stamps.
“Why would we do that?” Mersai said. “And no longer be able to serve our customers who actually need us and are EBT card holders?”
Instead, Mersai is calling for legislative changes that would allow retailers to have more authority and discretion when refusing transactions they reasonably suspect involve food stamp fraud without risking penalties or losing authorization to accept benefits.
“We can’t deny service or deny the sale just based on suspicion alone. We can’t. We just can’t,” he said.
Shirley has built a large online following through videos focused on alleged fraud, government spending and immigration issues. Through his Anti Fraud Club brand, he publishes investigative-style content, solicits donations and sells merchandise marketed as supporting independent journalism.
His national profile grew after videos alleging fraud at Minnesota child care centers drew praise from senior Trump administration officials, including JD Vance. Reporting by The New York Times described Shirley as part of a growing group of online creators whose work has helped shape conversations within the Trump administration.
KING 5 contacted Shirley through the contact form listed on the Anti Fraud Club website seeking comment on Lam’s response to the allegations but did not receive a response.
