It seems like scarcely a day goes by without us learning about a new welfare fraud ring being busted. In a way, that's disheartening, because there seem to be so many of these rings operating. On the other hand, it's encouraging, because they are being caught and arrested.

The latest such case comes to us from Massachusetts, where a big Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit fraud ring was busted, and guess what, most of the accused were illegal aliens, but living comfortably in that sanctuary state.

Now, though, they are in much less comfortable surroundings. The Department of Agriculture oversees the SNAP program, and Secretary of Agriculture Brook Rollins, on Tuesday, took to her official X account to break the news.

Secretary Rollins writes:

Nine individuals charged. Nearly $1 MILLION in alleged benefit fraud. 

Among them: Mercedes Soto Capellan, a Dominican national unlawfully residing in Massachusetts, who allegedly used a stolen identity to obtain approximately $65,521 in SNAP and MassHealth benefits. 

Some defendants allegedly lived under stolen identities for decades... all while collecting taxpayer-funded benefits. 

Under President Trump, if you steal from programs meant for vulnerable Americans, we will find you. And we will hold you accountable.

There is also a press release from the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts. It begins:

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Nine individuals have been charged in a coordinated federal crackdown on benefit fraud schemes that exploited stolen identities to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer-funded programs – including Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), MassHealth and Social Security benefits. Nearly $9 million in benefit fraud has been uncovered since December 2025.

Of the nine accused, six were in the United States illegally. The immigration status of one is unknown. One is a U.S. citizen from Puerto Rico, and the other in the U.S. legally on permanent resident status.

Here's how the scam supposedly worked:

As alleged, the defendants used stolen identities – often belonging to U.S. citizens from Puerto Rico – to obtain government-issued identification, including Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) credentials and, in some instances, U.S. passports, which were then used to apply for and receive public benefits.

In some cases, the defendants are alleged to have used stolen identities over extended periods of time – including one individual who allegedly lived under a stolen identity for more than 20 years. Certain defendants are further alleged to have obtained benefits across multiple programs, including SNAP, MassHealth and Social Security.

In multiple instances, the defendants allegedly provided stolen identities to law enforcement during prior arrests, and at least one defendant has a prior conviction under the same identity.

The extent of these fraud schemes makes one wonder how lax the screening of applicants really is; furthermore, it makes one wonder if some of those responsible for said screening are either incompetent or, worse, being cut in for a piece of the action. We have no evidence of that in this case, mind you, but it should be something that the Justice Department is looking into. 

And, again, there is the matter of incentives. The SNAP/EBT program, frankly, is too generous, too readily available, and too easily evades detection. People using these benefits should be highly visible; no more EBT cards; go back to the old paper vouchers, the "food stamps," at the very least. 

But, for now, we'll take this bust as another piece of good news on the ongoing fraud crackdown. This is what we voted for. This is what we have to turn out and vote for again in November.