Funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) officially lapsed on November 1 as a result of Democrats’ refusal to reopen the government, marking the first time in the program’s 60-year history that recipients have missed payments. But amid the unfortunate reality of many needy families going hungry, the hysteria over lapsed payments also ignited debate over fraud in the program.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has reported that investigators have found “thousands and thousands” of illegal uses of electronic benefit cards, including 5,000 deceased recipients still drawing payments. Since the agency’s audit began, about 700,000 individuals have been removed from the rolls, and more than 100 people have been arrested.
Long one of Washington’s most expensive welfare programs, the number of Americans on SNAP exploded during the Biden administration. An astonishing 42 million people (roughly one in eight households) now receive SNAP benefits, costing taxpayers more than $100 billion per year.
SNAP spending has nearly doubled since 2019, climbing from about $63 billion to $127 billion by 2023, according to the Cato Institute. The program is federally funded but run by the states, an arrangement that leaves wide gaps in oversight and data sharing.
COVID-19-era policies like extra allotments, suspended work rules, and delayed recertifications kept millions enrolled long after the pandemic faded. A 21 percent permanent hike in benefits through the Thrifty Food Plan sealed in higher costs. Critics note that geographic areas with heavy SNAP participation also suffer higher obesity and diabetes rates, fueling calls to tie benefits more closely to nutrition and employment.
The administration’s deeper audits have begun to expose how SNAP fraud works in practice, not just in theory. After the Department of Agriculture requested data from states on just who exactly is receiving the benefits, 21 states – all led by Democrats – either refused to respond or sued the administration. As Rollins pointed out, the states should have nothing to hide unless there are people on the program who shouldn’t be.
The evidence of fraud is everywhere. In May, the Justice Department charged six people, including a USDA employee, with running a $66 million fraud and bribery ring, one of the largest food stamp-related cases on record. Investigators said confidential store-license numbers were sold to ineligible retailers to process fake EBT transactions and pocket federal funds.
The USDA Inspector General estimated another $10.5 billion in improper payments last year, with nearly 177,000 fraud incidents logged in early 2024, many tied to card-skimming and cloned EBT accounts.
Fox News’ Will Cain outlined the everyday scams that result in stolen taxpayer dollars: cashiers ringing up phantom grocery sales and handing out cash, recipients selling card balances, and applicants falsifying income statements. Smaller prosecutions tell the same story, including one Michigan baker accused of diverting $20,000 in benefits to stock her bakery.
A flood of viral clips on social media provides more evidence of fraud and alleged EBT trafficking. In some cases, SNAP recipients have threatened robbery and violence if their benefits stop.
One silver lining of the shutdown could be that it may serve as an impetus for SNAP reform. Part of the administration’s goal, Rollins said, is to rebuild accountability. She has ordered a full audit of eligibility and directed the USDA to use state data to remove illegal recipients.
“We sent letters to every governor in America being very clear that no illegal aliens can use SNAP, zero, zero, zero,” Rollins said. “It is time to drastically reform this program, so that we can make sure that those who are truly needy and truly vulnerable are getting what they need and the rest of the corruption goes away so that we can serve the American taxpayer.”
The path to reform likely involves restoring work requirements in order to receive benefits, ending broad categorical eligibility, and reconsidering the 21 percent boost that permanently inflated benefits. Many conservatives have long argued that these changes would save tens of billions and return SNAP to its original purpose as a temporary bridge to prevent starvation, not a lifestyle subsidy.
The USDA’s own Fraud Framework outlines operational fixes like stronger retailer oversight, chip-card technology to curb skimming, and more criminal prosecutions.
States are also taking action, such as limiting SNAP purchases to truly nutritional items. Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Nebraska, Iowa, and Utah have recently approved limits on soda, candy, and energy drink purchases using SNAP benefits.
Democrats warn that strict eligibility rules risk hurting the poor during a shutdown. But the greater harm is a system that keeps people dependent instead of helping them become self-sufficient.
For decades, federal policy has blurred the line between temporary help and permanent reliance. Incentives in SNAP reward spending every dollar instead of budgeting or price-hunting, which in turn drives up grocery prices for everyone else. Recipients have little reason to economize; taxpayers fund it and then face the inflated prices at checkout.
SNAP reform is both a fiscal and moral test, a measure of whether government aid will become a true ladder out of poverty or continue as a permanent subsidy that rewards dependency.
Sarah Katherine Sisk is a proud Hillsdale College alumna and a master’s student in economics at George Mason University. You can follow her on X @SKSisk76.
Of course, the Democrats wish to continue their fraud, waste and abuse of this program. Now. however. the fraud is being discovered and hopefully, the system will be fixed until that time when the Democrats are voted back into power so the abuse can start all over again. The ignorant and lazy will never learn.
Government accountability is an oxymoron and according to their own statistics there is none. Greed and people equals fraud and its been that way from the beginning. When government gets bloated, it’s easy to disguise corruption as good intentions. Unfortunately once people become subservient to the government, they’ll support anyone that continues that dependency.
The ONLY way to keep states from funding illegals is to completely CUT OFF all federal dollars due to non-compliance with federal law. If recent Newsmax quotes of 57% of food stamp recipients being illegals is remotely correct, then we need to call out EVERY lawmaker spouting that Trump and the Republicans are starving 42 million “Americans.” Both cannot be true. I know my state of Oregon gives illegals not only food stamps (42 million dollars in 2023) but rent vouchers, legal assistance, etc-all on the taxpayer dime! CA is much worse.
I want everyone who really needs this benefit to get it. I do not want crooks stealing from all of us.
This shut down is all on the Democrats, no matter what they lie to the general public.
how stupid is it? They actually get paid back wages once they are back to work. Insanity!
We need to stop the Fraud NOW!
Legal permanent residents are not allowed to get food stamps. In the past no candy and non food items could be paid for with food stamps. There was a work requirement attached. Not today With this shut down we have seen these people on TikTok crying over losing their SNAP benefits or reduced or they have to pay back 35,000 dollars because they received too much in the past. One woman was getting 4000 dollars a month in Food Stamps, lived in a Section 8 apartment and paid 80 dollars in rent and also had qualified for cash benefits. She was driving a brand new 2024 BMW SUV Excuse me? And she screamed entitlement. Why do I have to give up my beautiful car she kept saying. One man made 100K a month and wanted his 400 dollar a month food stamps. He was entitled. One woman wanted to use her EBT card to buy 400 dollar worth of hair extension. When she was told she couldn’t she just took them. Everyone screams I have to go to work. That’s not possible one woman said. I sleep till 11 in the morning. I break out in hives if I have to go to work, I am allergic. Really now. Society does not have to pay for your existence. So you can party all day. But this is the kind of fraud and grift that is going on. One woman threatened to buy nothing but candy when her SNAP card came. Who is she hurting with that but herself. Every SNAP recipient has gotten a letter to revue their case. It’s about time. Every poor American wants 4,000 dollar for food every month, subsidized rent and cash.
Here the democrats under Obama and Biden let it happen. No they pushed it. To bankrupt America. How much grift and fraud and abuse hasn’t DOGE found and the democrats don’t care. Moron in NYC isn’t a day after his election and is taxing the Muddle Class. We all knew that was coming. There is more money to be had from them than the billionaires and millionaires because they leave. Moron knew that but smiled his way through the lies like a Cheshire Cat. The middle class that voted for him must feel like suckers.
Be still my heart! Democrats associated with fraud? Say It isn’t so! Wait I think the word Democrat is interchangeable with the word fraud
This Food Stamp program has been corrupt since it started.
As I watched the TV news 6 Black recipients on this program were very upset about not getting their SNAP benefits. Everyone of them were able bodied and two were in there early twenties. I would like to know why are these people free loading off Uncle Sam which is the hard working taxpayers.
Then I read about a Black woman complaining about not getting her SNAP and she has 6 children and her six different baby daddies aren’t paying to support the kids. Maybe Uncle Sam should be providing condoms or abortions instead of food benefits.
I’m just a disgusted White guy who worked hard raising a family and went through hard times and would never lean on Uncle Sam for food. There was times supper was soup and toast, and the following night scrambled eggs and potatoes. We survived and finally prospered and our kids did great!
Uncle Sam needs to overhaul this SNAP and have the able bodied work for their benefit.
Let’s face it–there is rampant FRAUD in every government program! The bureaucrats shuffle the forms around and get paid whether the needy people are helped or not! The DIMM politicians get their cut from the union employees’ dues going into their campaign coffers. Every dollar wasted by fraud is one less for truly needy people and one more from the taxpayers’ pockets.
If someone Truly needs help I would be the first in line to help them, as would many others like me. Our Welfare System is a huge mess.We can Thank Lynden Johnson for it. He’s the one who started it all, and when asked how much they should recieve in benefits said, “GIVE THEM JUST ENOUGH TO KEEP THEM VOTING DEMOCRAT”!! I feel there should be Work Requirements by Able Bodied people and TIME Limits for them to be on it. Too Many Sketchy Dr.s have given disability status to people who Gleefully Scam the System to get free benefits. A Little Palm Grease often goes a long way. Some people get disability for being FAT!! How Sad. And We,the Workers, pay for it. There should Also be a PICTURE OF THE RECIPIENT ON THE EBT CARD AND CASHIERS SHOULD HAVE TO ASK FOR ID TO USE IT. I have seen someone use their card, then give it to another person to use. That’s how easy it it to scam. I’m so sick of it. I Pray Something can be done to change it all, but then the Democrats, if and when they regain control, will change it all back. And The Beat Goes On!!
This news is at least 50 years old. Books of stamps were sold for cash for ever, no news here.Stamps were not enough, “free” lunch was added.
SNAP is an insult to hard working taxpayers. My earnings should not be confiscated to fill someone else’s belly. How many welfare programs are there besides SNAP and WIC that support those not willing to do the work required to pay their way?!
Excellent article; very disturbing to realize what a poor job our paid politicians do with our taxpayer money; this reveals a collosol amount of pure thievery has been perpatrated on the 49% of income tax payers.
There are 42 million benefits recipients, 38 million are non Americans (which is illegal) pumping the 4 million remaining probably ½ are fraudulent!
Schumer is a kosher con-artist. This man has never done an honest days work in his miserable life. He should be made to do roadwork using only a shovel. Introduce him to sweat and hard labor. And his buddy “How Come” Jeffries, too.
time to scrap current SNAP program,and start over with revised requirements. If the usa needs 41million on food subsidys isn,nt that pretty close to socialism ? This has to be the usa,s current waste program because of dems, and state abuse.
So we give taxpayer money to states and they REFUSE to allow audits.
No problem,shut off funds and cause reapply for all!!!!!!
What?!?!? ANOTHER government program that lacks ACCOUNTABILITY???? That CAN’T be possible, can it??? (sarcasm intended)
This is just one more example of how the Democrats buy votes. They have gotten very adept at using all Taxpayers money for their private perversions and hold on to power.
Well it shouldn’t take a gov shutdown for audits to take place and the demonrats are using it to get votes meanwhile prices keep going up for the working class elderly vets ECT so I not seeing much good unless you make over 50k a year your out of luck
I remember when SNAP used to be called Food Stamps. It was an embarrassment to hand over your Food Stamps to the clerk for food. However, technology and debit cards have taken away the shame and normalized it. I’m against the fraud that comes with many government programs and that this aid should be temporary and not be forever!
Just as the DEM extended shutdown under Covid-19 used to leverage the election of 2020 and improper votes revealed the deeply entrenched hidden indoctrination virtually everywhere, this shutdown is revealing the deeply hidden fraud in SNAP trying to force more “easy money” to be funded for other DEM vote-buying and indoctrination schemes like USAID. Suggestion: SNAP EBT should only process in grocery stores for eligible items, not expensive fast food or non-grocery items. Besides, if the SNAP recipient can burn gas waiting in the drive up, they really don’t need food assistance while wasting money in their Beamer, Lexus, Escalade, Tesla, Infinity, …
I think someone, maybe in Justice, could put together a really solid RICO case against the Democratic Party as a criminal organization.
Democrats sell out their own country for ONE prime purpose: POWER.
Nothing creates power faster than turning able-bodied people into dependents, something for which the Democrats are ultimate masters.
Despicable.
This needed to be said. I support helping those who are truly in need and are grateful and careful of how they spring their things. However I am disgusted with seeing cartfulls of soda, sweets, snack food and highly processed boxed food being purchased with EBT cards. Within this large population it is rare to see fresh vegetables, fruit, meat, poultry, fish, eggs, milk or other dairy products. Our tax dollars are paying for willful obesity then we pay for the medical care and disability for when they’re sick and unable to work. Why has the “hand up” turned into creating an on the dole population? We have created a greedy, ignorant, dependant population that has no remorse for bleeding the working tax taxpayers dry – quite the opposite they feel they are entitled. Long time overdue to lower the boom.
Hey. NYC! It is coming for YOU! WITH BELLS ON!!!
Got to be fixed
So, why is the Agriculture Secretary still paying the 5000 deceased recipients if you know they are deceased? Surely she has authority to say STOP. Sounds like a stupid question, but it’s also a stupid statement to put out there to say “still drawing payments”. Do something about it!!, then put a statement out there that 5000 deceased have been taken off the gravy train line. Let’s wake up, or get somebody else to do the job!
What should happen immediately is everyone should be kicked out of the program and forced to re-apply!!
Would love to share the SNAP article.
Every official who handled or approved each application for SNAP, and didn’t follow up on actual and continual eligibility compliance, should be fired immediately! They knew what they were doing was not in accordance to eligibility, and committed fraud and here by guilty of negligence.
No surprise ad all welfare programs are riddled with fraud, waste, and abuse.
Very informative, but I have always known that these programs are full abuse.
Absolutely EVERYTHING IN AND ABOUT this new radicalized far leftwing Socialist-Communist party (mistakingly still called the Democrat party) is a fraud. It is based solely on LIES, DECEIT, PERVERSION, CORRUPTION, AND FOCUSED COMPLETELY ON THE COMMUNIST IDEOLOGY,
THE PARTY THAT IS TRULY AMERICA’S ENEMIES WITHIN.
If it’s a freebie program of course the democrats are involved, and of course there is fraud, waste, and abuse, as well as kickbacks. The democrat party is overdue for RICO Act charges against their Organized Crime Syndicate, after all it was the Biden regime that enabled drug, sex, and human trafficking with their open border policies. I’m sure it wasn’t just for potential votes that they so vehemently shielded gangs, cartels, and pedophiles, after all they come to Washington, D.C. with barely a penny to their name and leave as Bernie Sanders always likes to claim of others “millionaires and billionaires”. Pfizer and Co. bring more to you than just shows on ABC, NBC, and CBS. Would be nice to make it mandatory for members of Congress to have to wear their sponsors brand name logos on their outfits, much like the race car drivers. It would be an eye opener even for low density I.Q. voters.
No big surprise here. This is just one more example of how the radical liberals throw billions into a welfare program to buy votes and never monitor or put restrictions on any of the people who want it. Every week there is another hi-priced, fraudulent program from the radicals who only want to buy more power and destroy our country. Now, the GOP needs to do something about it and soon. Why has no one ever checked on these programs before? Why didn’t the Republicans demand an accounting of these programs? Americans need to be furious about these fraudulent programs. We need to put back in to watch DOGE!!!
The democrats agenda,we will be like Santa Clause and give,give,give free stuff for votes,but,it’s not really free,IS IT >>
There are so many ways to make this food system honest; seems that is not the end game. Soda companies want their product to be covered, so candy and unhealthy snacks. With these types of lobbyist, it will be hard, but we can know the ones who really are in need of assistance. Our national government has all the tools to track fraud and abuse. Glad Brooke is on the job!
Funding the illegals instead of the citizenry is the Democrat’s main concern I goal, because they need them to be counted in the CENSUS, which will increase Reps & Electors so they can win in every election….cheating is their goal and we all know it now. May God bless those in the dark with wisdom, to protect our country & freedom.
It’s called buying votes from the lazy using dollars from the industrious taxpayers. You figure out which Political Party they belong to. Marxist Socialist Democrat or Conservative Republican? No BLUE STATE wants to give information about their recipients is a good indicator of who is lying and falsifying.
About 3.5 million people in the U.S. deal with seizures. There are approximately 40 types and are caterogized in one medical term called Epilepsy. Some Brand name anti-epileptic medications (AED) can cost $2500 or more for a 3 month supply. Lots of people with epilepsy can only afford generic drugs which are substantially less in price, but in some instances they are not helpful. Do illegals get free Brand or generic AED’s that U.S. citizens can’t afford?
SNAP should be abolished along with federal welfare and many other unconstitutional programs and agencies. HUD, Department of Education, DEA except at the borders to repel smugglers and illegal aliens along with many other such agencies that should be done at state or local levels of government.
I wonder about people who now need food stamps because their jobs are being replaced by AI and they can’t get reemployed.
1st: Chuck Scumer Democrats need to understand the consequences of their actions! Any Democrat who does not show up at work in Congress, should not receive their pay, and no repayment for lost pay. The same as anyone who doesn’t show up for work!
2nd: No payments, food, shelter or anything free to illegal aliens, including their children! The same 0$ as our ancestors received when they came to America legally with a Visa!
Nobody should be able to shut down the government. There has to be a better way.
I want to send this information to friends that need to hear it,but not able to share any of these finding.
Stop handing out money! A truly needy family would be very thankful to receive a bag of beans and a bag of rice. I was raised in a poor family, and was very thankful for the beans and rice my parents PURCHASED for us to eat.
Seems to me that the Department of Agriculture should run a review about every 90 days to stay on top of changes.
Start your home business right now. Spend more time with your family and earn. Start bringing 95$/hour just on a computer. Very easy way to make your life happy and earning continuously….
Good article!! Good outcome from what was meant for bad!!