Federal agents raid 2 Twin Cities stores in SNAP fraud probe
Federal agents say they executed criminal search warrants at two Twin Cities stores on Thursday as part of an investigation into $2.1 million of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program fraud.
Twenty other stores were part of the investigation and are suspected of violating the SNAP program; they were issued administrative charging letters, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The probe — called "Operation Cold SNAP" — started in February. The USDA says that as part of the schemes, retailers would exchange taxpayer-funded SNAP benefits for cash or other items.
"They bring the card into the store and instead of buying an eligible food item, which is what SNAP is for, they exchange the benefits of that card for cash, for money. And then the retailer will take that money on the card, spend it," USDA Inspector General John Walk said.
In the past, the USDA has said the cardholder usually winds up with less cash than the card is worth, benefitting the business.
Walk says fraudulent SNAP retailers steal from victims, including children that rely on the funds.
"If the responsible adult, whether it be parent or guardian are trafficking the funds, it's actually that child that's going to suffer from it, because the food benefits will never reach that child," Walk said.
Data from the federal government shows about $1.2 billion in SNAP benefits were trafficked between 2015 and 2017 — about 1.5% of the total cost of the program, which is around $100 billion. However, Walk said on Thursday that reports show improper payments could be as high as 10%.
The USDA did not share what the cash is being used for in these cases, but said in past investigations, people have trafficked benefits for cash, guns and drugs.
