SNAP retailers, including the defendants, receive instruction regarding the requirements and regulations of the food stamp program, such as that only eligible food items can be exchanged for EBT benefits and that a retailer may never exchange EBT benefits for cash or non-food items.Īccording to some of the indictments listed below, the defendants owned, operated, or worked at stores in the Southern District of Florida that were authorized to accept SNAP. Retailers bill the government in return for providing approved food items. SNAP reimbursements are paid to retailers through electronic funds transfers. Authorized retailers use a point-of-sale (POS) terminal that checks the EBT card information and deducts the cash value of the purchase from the customer’s SNAP benefit balance. Retailers must apply to and be approved by FNS to participate in the program. Recipients use the EBT card, which contains an embedded magnetic strip, to purchase approved food items from participating retailers. In 1998, DCF changed the format of SNAP benefits in Florida from a traditional paper coupon system to an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card system. FNS and the State of Florida share jointly in the cost of administering the SNAP. DCF is responsible for overall program administration, as well as approving, denying or revoking assistance for recipients. In Florida, SNAP is administered by the State of Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF). FNS is responsible for the authorization and disqualification of retail food establishments participating in the redemption of SNAP benefits. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) administers SNAP through its agency, the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, is a federally funded, national program established by the United States government to alleviate hunger and malnutrition among lower income families. Any retailer who chooses to defraud taxpayers through such schemes will continue to be aggressively investigated and prosecuted by USDA-OIG and its law enforcement partners,” stated Karen Citizen-Wilcox, Special Agent in Charge, USDA-OIG. The storeowners who allegedly orchestrated this trafficking scheme pocketed millions in “fees” which they charged for converting food assistance benefits into cash. These retailers created an illegal benefits exchange system that defrauded the American taxpayer and denied healthy foods to needy children and their families.
In this instance, eight small convenience stores in south Florida committed a staggering amount of fraud in a relatively short amount of time. “The USDA-OIG conducts hundreds of criminal investigations relating to SNAP fraud across the nation each year. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners are committed to investigating and bringing to justice those who engage in these fraudulent schemes.” “The exploitation of participants in the program by providing cash instead of nutrition for financial gain is criminal. “The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program offers nutrition assistance to millions of eligible, low-income individuals and families while providing economic benefits to communities,” stated Acting United States Attorney Benjamin G.
This operation resulted in the largest combined financial fraud loss for a food stamp trafficking takedown in history. The indictments allege that the retailers received more than $20 million in federal payments for transactions in which they did not provide any food, a fraud scheme commonly known as “food stamp trafficking.” Stores and vendors allegedly took illicit profits from the fraudulent transactions with food stamp recipients. Secret Service (USSS), made the announcement. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, and Brian Swain, Special Agent in Charge, U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General (USDA-OIG), George L. Greenberg, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Karen Citizen-Wilcox, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Twelve retail store owners, operators, and clerks, have been charged in connection with schemes to illegally redeem food stamp benefits in exchange for cash.īenjamin G.
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