“How Much Does SNAP Cost? In fiscal year 2017, the federal government spent about $70 billion on SNAP and other food assistance programs.”
The Trump administration’s Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Purdue has proposed new rules that would limit access to food stamps for 3 million people:
“This proposal will save money and preserve the integrity of the program. SNAP should be a temporary safety net.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that a whopping 40 million people used SNAP in 2018!
The proposed new change would save $2.5 billion and be more restrictive on the less needy people by keeping them from qualifying for food stamps.
Brandon Lipps, USDA acting deputy undersecretary: “Unfortunately, automatic eligibility has expanded to allow even millionaires and others who simply receive a TANF-funded brochure to become eligible for SNAP when they clearly don’t need it.”
Forty-three states currently automatically enroll people in food stamps if they are on the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program (TANF). This will change when the Trump administration closes the loophole of automatic enrollment. The problem is that Democrats like Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow are already protesting the change.
The truth is that there is so much fraud and waste in the food stamp program, something should be done, but Democrats will never budge.
In fact, a Minnesota millionaire who was enrolled in TANF was automatically enrolled in food stamps for 19 months:
The man testified before Congress to expose the lax rules on food stamps, but spoke with Stuart Varney before his testimony:
Before Minnesota millionaire Rob Undersander testified to congressional lawmakers yesterday, he spoke with Fox Business’ Stuart Varney about how he got ‘hundreds of dollars in food stamps. He successfully applied for food stamps to draw attention to flaws in the current system.
The recently retired Minnesota millionaire was volunteering to help seniors navigate social programs when he realized he qualified for food stamps:
“At the time my wife and I were recently retired, drawing very little income living off our savings, living very well and I thought to myself, ‘would I be eligible for this?’ So I filled out the application, and three weeks later I’m getting hundreds of food stamps …I couldn’t believe it.”
Undersander was careful to follow the law when he applied for food stamps.
“After I started receiving the benefits, I started working with my state representative, Mr. Jeff Howe, in crafting legislation to try to at least reform this in the state of Minnesota. And unfortunately, it was not well received by the Minnesota legislature.”
Wow!
The food stamp program is a federally-funded program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and federal investigators are most often the ones who catch those engaged in fraudulent activities…
Investigators often uncover millions of dollars worth of food stamp fraud, mostly from people who run convenience stores in low-income areas where many patrons receive food stamps through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
To show how many millions of dollars these criminals have taken away from the federal government, here are the 5 biggest takedowns of food stamp fraud of 2017.
IMMIGRANT FRAUD IS THE COMMON THREAD!
1. Ohio Convenience Store Owner Sentenced to 33 Months in Prison for $2.8 Million in Food Stamp Fraud
A former Ohio convenience store owner got caught carrying out a $2.8 million food stamp fraud scheme where he allowed benefit recipients to exchange their food stamps for cash.
The USDA revealed in an audit that the store, Breaden Market, cashed in on SNAP benefits more than ten times the amount of larger stores in the area, raising red flags among investigators.
A judge eventually convicted and sentenced George Rafidi, 62, to 33 months in prison in February and ordered him to pay that $2.8 million back.
2. Florida Investigators Discover More than $20 Million in Food Stamp Fraud
The agency said it uncovered the majority of fraud when paging through SNAP benefit applications stating fraudulent household information.
3. Baltimore Man Sentenced to Four Years for $3.7 Million Food Stamp Fraud
A Baltimore store owner got slapped with a four-year prison sentence for carrying out $3.7 million worth of food stamp fraud.
Mohammad Shafiq, 51, was one of 14 other Baltimore-area retailers sentenced for $16 million worth of food stamp fraud, where they exchanged SNAP benefits for cash.
The judge ordered Shafiq to pay back that $3.7 million to the federal government and serve three years of supervised release following the end of his sentence.
4. Three Wisconsin Men Who Carried Out $1.2 Million Food Stamp Fraud Sentenced to Hard Time
A judge sentenced three Milwaukee, Wisconsin, convenience store owners—Kanwar Gill, 67, Raviinder Gill, 27, and George Nance, 59—to prison terms ranging from 15-20 months in October after the three had been found guilty of exchanging cash for SNAP benefits.
Their store, Quick N EZ, had been an authorized retailer that accepts food stamp benefits, but the $1.2 million in benefits the store redeemed was far beyond the amount the small convenience store was expected to redeem.
Records show that all three men had been ordered to pay back the $1.2 million in fraudulently earned money.
5. Iraqi Immigrant Pleads Guilty to $1.4 Million Food Stamp Fraud
An Iraqi immigrant pleaded guilty to $1.4 million in food stamp fraud in November for conspiring with others to defraud the U.S. government.
Ali Ratib Daham, 40, of Maine, gave customers cash in exchange for SNAP and Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) program benefits. He then redeemed the full value of the benefits to obtain more money from the government fraudulently.
The naturalized U.S. citizen is expected to face a harsh prison sentence for his crime—he faces up to 20 years behind bars and will most likely be expected to pay back the $1.4 million to the government.
Via: Breitbart
