BrownfieldAgNews reports:
A USDA employee and five other individuals have been charged in connection with what authorities describe as one of the largest alleged food stamp frauds in the nation’s history. Investigators say the purported scheme resulted in more than $66 million in unauthorized transactions under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The defendants face charges related to conspiracy, misappropriation of USDA benefits, and, in the case of the USDA employee, bribery and honest services fraud. The individuals are each charged with one count of conspiracy to steal government funds and misappropriate USDA benefits, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, one count of theft of government funds, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, and one count of misappropriation of USDA benefits, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The USDA employee is additionally charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, one count of bribery, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, and one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Investigators allege that, beginning in 2019, the scheme involved fraudulent applications for SNAP authorization and the distribution of unauthorized Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) terminals to businesses that were not qualified to process SNAP transactions. Authorities say the USDA employee used their access to government systems to provide EBT license numbers to co-conspirators in exchange for payments.
The investigation was conducted by the USDA Office of Inspector General (USDA-OIG) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
