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-Lurid Crime Tales-
Widespread National Food Stamp Fraud Totals at Least $1 Billion, Could Be as High as $4.7 Billion
2019-02-20
[Free Beacon] According to a new report produced by the Government and Accountability Office (GAO), at least $1 billion in food stamp benefits are "trafficked annually," meaning they are fraudulently used. The extent of the fraud is uncertain, the GAO warns, estimating the abuse of the program could be as high as $4.7 billion.

About 20 million lower-income households receive benefits from the $64 billion Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, to buy food. But GAO found that instead of being used for food, many stores are defrauding the program by "selling" cash instead of food.

"For example, a store might give a person $50 in exchange for $100 in benefits ‐ then pocket the difference," GAO explains.

The Food Nutrition Service (FNS) within the U.S. Department of Agriculture oversees SNAP and is responsible for authorizing and overseeing retailers.
Posted by:Besoeker

#9  Food stamps are a joke. People used to come in all the time at the gas station I was working at, buying mounds of pop and junk food and whatnot on their EBT cards, all at incredibly high gas station prices mind you. I was at a big corporate store that would never do the cash fraud itself, but all the locally owned Arab stores will do it, at least in the poorer areas of town. 50% is what a store will do, a lot of people will sell them for a better price to people that don't work for a store though (think a friend or family member).
Posted by: Vernal Hatrack2366   2019-02-20 21:40  

#8  The proposed solution will be to allow the EBT cards to be used like any other debit card, for toilet paper...and beer.

Don't forget marijuana.
Posted by: Abu Uluque   2019-02-20 12:53  

#7  Hurrah for human nature!
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2019-02-20 11:49  

#6  I was standing in line at a gas station convenience store outside of Richmond VA off of route 95. A woman attempted to purchase cartons of cigarettes with EBT cards. She requested the cashier to ring up an eligible purchase. The cashier would have none of it and basically kicked her out of the store. As I exited the store I noticed New York plates and a backseat full of cigarette cartons. Probably a very profitable scam as they buy the EBT cards for less than 50 cents on the dollar and then buy low tax smokes to be sold in New York at 200% plus mark up.
Posted by: Airandee   2019-02-20 11:45  

#5  The proposed solution will be to allow the EBT cards to be used like any other debit card, for toilet paper...and beer.
Posted by: Glenmore   2019-02-20 10:01  

#4  Don't forget about the EITC fraud, though it's hard to pin down an accurate annual fraud total - suffice to say it starts at $1 billion per annum. This is known as a 'refundable credit', which means you get the credit / refund even if you have little to no Federal tax liability.

Oh - and Google buries the critical search results amongst the Mother Jones type articles telling us there's no fraud to see here, move along.
Posted by: Raj   2019-02-20 09:26  

#3  Well, yeah, fewer clients collecting the same or more benefits. In Washingtonese, that's a "cut..."
Posted by: M. Murcek   2019-02-20 08:41  

#2  Food Stamp fraud is the basis for the urban economy.

That along with the narcotics trade.
Posted by: Besoeker   2019-02-20 07:54  

#1  Food Stamp fraud is the basis for the urban economy.
Posted by: Shoth Schwarzeneggar3463   2019-02-20 07:52  

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