Fraud and Corruption in SNAP

Chris Edwards

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) costs federal taxpayers more than $110 billion a year and is vulnerable to at least 10 types of fraud. Some types of SNAP fraud have ballooned in the digital economy.

Card “skimming” has plagued SNAP and may have cost billions of dollars over the years. The government deposits food stamp funds onto electronic benefits transfer (EBT) cards, which recipients then redeem at retail stores. Criminal gangs are slipping card readers onto store EBT terminals...