Food Stamp Theft: Now Up to 226K Fraudulent Claims Nationwide

The drive to reform the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, continues apace. Meanwhile, there is an effort going on by the agency that administers SNAP, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), to identify and eliminate fraud in the system - and boy, howdy, is there ever fraud in the system. We've all heard the stories, but now the USDA has some numbers.

First, the reform; on Monday, the Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, announced that all current SNAP recipients were to be required to reapply and be recertified as eligible. And that may not be the end of the reforms.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Monday the Trump administration will require all participants in the nation’s largest food assistance program to reapply for benefits in an effort to prevent fraud.
Recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which supports more than 40 million Americans, will need to demonstrate that their households still meet eligibility requirements to continue receiving benefits.

There will be the predictable screeching from the left over this requirement, but we might point out to the hysterical screechers that this is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, not the Everlasting Gravy Train of Free Schiff Program, and that it's appropriate to make sure recipients are properly screened.

Changes Push Millions Off SNAP Even As USDA Secretary Rollins Looks to Bigger Cuts

Speaking of properly screened, some of the states have provided numbers on the matter of fraud uncovered in the SNAP program, and those numbers are a real eye-opener.

New data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture reveal the states where the nation’s largest food assistance program is costing taxpayers the most through fraud and misuse.

Here are the worst offenders for SNAP fraud:

Last year, SNAP cost $99.8 billion, with participants receiving an average of $187 in monthly benefits, federal data show.
As part of her review of SNAP benefits, Rollins said she directed states in February to share data on recipients.
So far, only 29 states, mostly Republican-led, have complied.

It would be roundly interesting to see the data from the other 21 states, given that they would seem to be mostly Democrat-led. Here's what we know so far:

She said even that limited data has already uncovered significant misuse, including 186,000 deceased individuals receiving benefits and about 500,000 people collecting SNAP assistance in more than one state.
Initial data from the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service show Alabama leading the nation with more than 26,000 stolen SNAP benefit claims. California follows with 25,818 stolen benefit claims, and New York ranks third with 25,210.
Nationwide, more than 226,000 fraudulent SNAP benefit claims and more than 691,000 unauthorized transactions have been approved. Fraudulent transactions are categorized as purchases that SNAP recipients did not authorize, often the result of card skimming, cloning, or other forms of electronic theft.

These stolen benefits are expected to cost the government $102 million in the first quarter of 2025 alone.

I've written before about how the SNAP program needs to be reformed, and my ideas on how that should be done. I would add to that that anyone who is on the SNAP program who buys a pack of cigarettes, gets a tattoo, or has acrylic nails or hair extensions should also be unceremoniously booted from the program; if they have money for smokes or ink, they don't need to be soaking the taxpayers for food.

And if these fraud numbers aren't the greatest argument of the century for major reform of a taxpayer-funded entitlement program, it will sure do until a better one comes along.

Editor's Note: President Trump is leading America into the "Golden Age" as Democrats try desperately to stop it.

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