Arizona: A 15-month investigation found roughly $700-K in EBT fraud. 18 indictments.

California: $69 million in EBT funds withdrawn outside the state’s borders in recent years, including almost $12 million withdrawn in Las Vegas.

Colorado: EBT cards used at strip clubs, casinos. Denver Post editorializes that attempts to crack down on fraud might not be worth it.

Connecticut: 27 state workers fired, 10 others retire after investigation finds massive insider fraud by government bureaucrats.

Florida: Investigators find that sales of EBT cards at less than full value results in a $2-million swindle.

Georgia: Man pleads guilty to EBT card scam valued at $4.6 million, believed to be largest food stamp fraud ever in the state.

Illinois: Sting on “LINK” cards believed to have generated $40,000 monthly revenue for one of the families accused of participating in the alleged fraud ring.

Indiana: State worker accused of issuing EBT cards to fake recipients. Also, police arrest five in EBT scam believed to have netted $100-K.

Iowa: Grocer, a former City Council member, convicted of witness tampering during food stamp investigation and trial. In a separate story, Iowa inmates found to have been illegally receiving food stamp benefits while incarcerated.

Kansas: Authorities believe as many as 7,000 fraudulent users of EBT cards are costing the state $22-million.

Louisiana: Eight arrested in food stamp fraud. In late 2011, the state said it had 474 active investigations into possible EBT fraud/abuse.

Maine: “Tip of the iceberg” investigation nets five indictments.

Maryland: Believed to be No. 2 in the nation in EBT card fraud, with one in four card applications “showing evidence of fraud.”

Massachusetts: Stores accused of buying EBT cards at discounted prices, and hooking up EBT card users with crack cocaine dealers.

Missouri: Welfare cards being spent in such distant places as Florida and Hawaii.

New Hampshire: Report says 10 percent of all registered food stamp recipients live out of state.

Ohio: Audit finds 33,000 replacement EBT cards ordered in one year. “[M]ore than 1,500 people in Hamilton County have ordered 10 replacement cards or more since 2006.”

Texas: State faced $4 million in federal fines for errors in issuing food stamps.

Washington: Store owner sentenced to 21 months in prison: $170,000 in her bank account on the day of the raid.

Wisconsin: Nine county workers suspected in multi-year fraud that scammed $300-K or more.


Find your state here!

April 20, 2012

Probe targets 53 in EBT-cards-for-cash fraud scheme

By Matt Murphy STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

Nanu, it is not .125% like the liar in chief of MA would like you to believe and this is just scratching the surface.  None of this even includes all of the illegal aliens that are abusing the system.

I know of people (who have been turned in) that sell their cards monthly so they can get themselves a bag of weed.  I'm sure that goes back to businesses.

Of course it would, if I had my way with recreational drugs.  I would let CVS and Walgreens sell weed over the counter and tax the **** out of it, like we do to cigarettes in this state ($8.20/pack now).

But that is a different story.

Posted by nanu on 10/9/2013 6:10:00 AM (view original):

Posted by DougOut on 10/8/2013 9:05:00 PM (view original):

Posted by nanu on 10/8/2013 6:37:00 PM (view original):

Posted by raucous on 10/8/2013 7:57:00 AM (view original):
Obama succumb to the pressure and magically the Amber Alert is back on.  No Legislative Branch voting at all.  hmmmm.......

There is some flexibility in any operating budget. What the public won't see here are the conversations about how to fund something like this with those available funds, which will probably be able to keep things going for a couple weeks or so, depending on thr program and the funding source. But that ain't gonna magically last forever, and paying for this now probably means some group of federal employees is now tthat much closer to layoffs.

You didn't answer any of my earlier questionsm. Why not?

We're not going to default. Another DemoNazi OBAMA LIE akin to the liar news conference today. 

We need 18 Billion a month to pay the interest. 

We take in over 250 Billion a month. 

Another fake emergency from the crummy liar leadership of what used to be the Democrat party. 

Now the leadership is just a bunch of punks and thugs and thieves who need to be slapped down hard and forever.

Hi doug! Are you a financial professional? Just curious the expertise you bring to thr tablr in analyzing this policy issue with such confidence.

Yes I am!  Thank You!

Moody is the firm that gives us our rating.  They took us down awhile back.  Google Moody and see what they said TODAY about what I said YESTERDAY.

you welcome

Walmart shelves in Springhill, Mansfield, cleared in EBT glitch

Posted: Oct 13, 2013 1:38 PM EST Updated: Oct 14, 2013 7:31 AM EST

Nope.  No fraud at all.  Wait until Obamacare kicks in.  At least private companies care about fraud.

Okay rauc, that's the level of fraud and crime you've managed to identify with EBT cards.  Can you go ahead and compare that to the level of crime and fraud in private retail?  With regular money?

Do it.  Think about it.  its way lower.

Shoplifting alone at retail establishments costs you and me, the American taxpayer, about 40 times as much - proportionally, on the dollar - as EBT fraud.

Where's your outrage at private industry?  You, the consumer, cover those hidden costs, and don't seem to care a whit.

Posted by raucous on 10/14/2013 8:13:00 AM (view original):
Nope.  No fraud at all.  Wait until Obamacare kicks in.  At least private companies care about fraud.

that last sentence is the funniest thing i've ever heard.

why care when you just bake those costs into the price at retail? 

Posted by raucous on 10/9/2013 8:05:00 AM (view original):
April 20, 2012

Probe targets 53 in EBT-cards-for-cash fraud scheme

By Matt Murphy STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

BOSTON — Dozens of welfare recipients were swept up by police yesterday on charges of selling their food stamps for cash, local and state investigators announced.

Fifty-three people were targeted as part of widespread investigation involving city, state and federal law enforcement agencies that resulted in the raid of a Quincy convenience store and several downtown Boston businesses, officials said.

Investigators include officials from the Boston Police Department, Attorney General Martha Coakley's office and the U.S. Department of Agriculture for taking part in a scheme that involved trading their EBT cards for cash, often forfeiting a fee to store owners in exchange for the money, officials said.

Misuse of Electronic Benefits Transfer funds, or EBT, has generated attention in recent weeks and has drawn the eye of state leaders pledging to crack down on the use of welfare funds at strip clubs, for bail and for other uses they deem inappropriate.

The results of the investigation were announced yesterday afternoon at a press conference at Boston Police Headquarters attended by Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis, Auditor Suzanne Bump, Boston Police Lt. Chuck Wilson and Allie Alland, the director of special investigations in Bump's office who has been appointed as the lead prosecutor.

Attorney General Martha Coakley separately announced a sweep in Quincy involving similar charges.

"We know that there has been food stamp fraud and an uptick in food stamp fraud. It's a trend that's literally sweeping the nation," Bump told reporters, adding, "This is a complete tragedy and works to the detriment of all that are deserving, some now more than ever."

Though police said they were unable to immediately discuss the details or targets of the raids, Boston police were observed investigating several Chinatown businesses yesterday morning, including the Cmart on Washington Street, as part of the sting that led to the issuance of 18 arrest warrants and 13 summons from the Suffolk County District Attorney's office.

Boston Police Commission Ed Davis said all of the 31 individuals targeted by the Boston police investigation were "end users" of the food stamp cards, most often the intended beneficiary of the welfare benefits. Police said no store owners have been charged yet as part of the scheme, but Lt. Chuck Wilson said the year-long investigation is ongoing.

Wilson also said most of the individuals targeted were known to police with long histories of petty larceny and drug crimes in the downtown area. All 31 individuals will be charged with larceny over $250.

Coakley's office, in a separate, but intentionally timed raid, executed a search warrant with federal agents at Pat's Mini Mart in Quincy and arrested the store's owner Pat Lu. In addition, 6 arrest warrants and 15 summonses were issued for individuals accused of selling their food stamps for cash at various Massachusetts locations.

Lu, 48, of Quincy, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Quincy District Court on Thursday and was held on $100,000 bail. He is charged with larceny by continuous scheme, procurement fraud, and access device fraud.

"We allege that both the store owner and recipients engaged in a scheme to unlawfully exchange food stamps for cash," Coakley said in a statement. "This alleged scheme was a direct fraud on taxpayers, and our action today should make clear that we take this type of fraud seriously and it will be investigated."

Coakley alleges that Lu was processing about $70,000 a month in fraudulent food stamp sales, entering food receipts for groceries to a dedicated EBT terminal, but instead giving the customer cash and sometimes taking a cut of up to 50 percent for himself. Investigators allege that Pat's Mini Mart processed $700,000 in fraudulent food stamp transactions between August 2012 and March 2012.

Though Massachusetts uses the EBT card system for a variety of programs including cash assistance benefits, the fraud targeted Wednesday involved the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known commonly as "food stamps." Those benefits are intended for the purchase of groceries and other necessities, and the program does not allow cash to be exchange in lieu of benefits.

Asked whether the investigation warrant a reform of the EBT system, Davis said, "There are people who take advantage of systems, so people can draw their own conclusions about how it's working."

Bump, who has started an audit of the EBT system in Massachusetts and aided the investigation, differentiated between the type of abuse targeted by Thursday's raid and welfare recipients using benefits for inappropriate purchases such as at nail salons.

The House budget slated for debate next week includes a section that adds to the list of establishments prohibited from accepting the welfare cards, and would create a criminal statute for trafficking in EBT cards that would prohibit the unauthorized use, transfer, acquisition, alteration or possession of an EBT card.

Bump said she had not yet reviewed the House language, but had been looking into the criminal statutes on her own to see if they should be updated.

Rep. Shaunna O'Connell, a Taunton Republicans and outspoken proponent of reforming the EBT system, immediately sought to spin the raid into a political advantage in advance of the House budget debate.

"I am not surprised at all. Right now the Department of Transitional Assistance replaces 20,000 EBT cards monthly. In comparison, only 16,000 drivers' licenses are replaced monthly. There are far more people who are licensed to drive in the Commonwealth than receive EBT benefits. Hence, it is easily concluded that the cards are being sold," O'Connell said in a statement.

After serving on an commission the reviewed the EBT program but stopped short of recommending the elimination of cash assistance for welfare card recipients, O'Connell has filed amendments to the House budget that would end cash withdrawals and impose a fee for replacement cards.

"I hope this latest problem will encourage more legislators to support my budget amendment and my legislation so we can finally stop the fraud that is plaguing the system," O'Connell said.



20,000 a month!

Wow.  Amazing.  Do you know the proportions here?

Over 800,000 people on public assistance in MA.  They stay for an average less than 2 years.  That's a lot of turnover.  

Is 20,000 REALLY a lot?

More to the point - is the level of crime with EBT cards any better or worse than other enterprises?  Have you ever asked yourself that question.  But, that doesn't mean we can't make some political hay out of it, eh?

Posted by raucous on 10/9/2013 8:09:00 AM (view original):

Mass. Audit: Welfare Benefits Paid To 1,164 Dead People

By Bob Salsberg May 28, 2013 Updated May 28, 4:00 pm

BOSTON — The state’s welfare agency made millions of dollars in questionable payments to people who were dead or otherwise ineligible for benefits, and missed numerous opportunities to detect potential fraud, according to an audit (PDF) made public Tuesday.

The report has already contributed to attempts at reform within the Department of Transitional Assistance, state Auditor Suzanne Bump said. In March, the agency unveiled a plan for ending abuse and assuring that benefits are legitimately going to those eligible to receive them.

The 2.5-year audit found a total 1,164 people who continued to receive welfare benefits for periods of six months to up to 27 months after they died, totaling nearly $2.4 million in payments.

In most cases, electronic benefits transfer (EBT) cards belonging to dead persons were being used by unauthorized individuals to make store purchases or withdraw cash from an ATM, according to the report.

In some cases, the auditors found, benefits were paid to guardians who claimed dead people as dependents.

“This audit demonstrates that DTA can do more to ensure that only eligible people are receiving benefits and that those benefits are not being abused,” Bump said in a statement.

The audit also faulted the agency for failing to verify self-reported Social Security numbers, resulting in more than $1 million in benefits paid to people who had two separate Social Security numbers, had numbers that were being used by more than one individual or had a temporary number that was invalid.

Five regional DTA offices could not provide documentation for what happened to 30,000 blank EBT cards, the auditors said, raising questions about security and whether employees may have inappropriately used the cards, which work much like debit cards to allow welfare benefits to make purchases. The audit did not identify any specific criminal activity.

Bump also said the agency missed opportunities to ferret out fraud and abuse using reporting generated internally by the very technology it uses to administer benefits.

These unused reports pointed to more than $15 million in suspicious EBT activity that should have been flagged and investigated, the auditor said. For example, the department failed to follow up on people who made excessive requests for replacement EBT cards, a likely indication of illegal trafficking of the cards. One individual had been issued as many as 127 replacement cards since 2006.

Other examples of fraudulent patterns that could have been detected included $1.5 million in even-dollar food purchases in amounts such as $100 or $250 — unusual because purchases of food rarely end in even-dollar amounts.

Many of the auditor’s findings were shared in advance with welfare officials and mirror some of the findings in an earlier report by the state’s inspector general.

“The audit report’s recommendations align with DTA’s recently released 100-Day Action Plan (PDF), which takes proactive steps to prevent fraud and abuse, block EBT card usage at prohibited establishments and increase monitoring of card usage,” said Stacey Monahan, interim commissioner of the welfare agency.

Monahan also pointed to a recently announced program that allows for the sharing of data with local police departments about possible misuse of EBT cards by recipients and retailers.

Already over .125% already if the $2B number is correct.

Have you tried the math?

Do the math, boyo.  2.4 million, out of 2 billion, is well less than .125 pct.  Even if we add up all the numbers here, we're up around $20M...1 per cent. But, that $20M number is awfully loosey goosey..  

remember, you need to actually read, not just react emotionally.  We have here a state politician looking to make a name for herself.  How much of that money was actually lost due to fraud?

Benefits paid to dead people - but not spent - are benefits easily returned to the government.  Does the report say how much of those millions were spent?  No?  Probably because the real number is tiny.  

And 'suspicious activity'.  Doesn't mean fraud has in fact occurred.  We're talking data and patterns - these are suggestions for improved administration of the program; but the media has read it as burning indications of fraud...but STILL.  We're talking tiny dollars.  $20M is about $3 per capita in MA.  Are you really THIS bent of shape about $3 out of your pocket?  Even more, substantially all of the money here is federal.  So now we're talking even less state money, less than a BUCK.

Yeah, it sucks that things go wrong.  but you're missing the real life aspects of this.  This is a human enterprise, not a machine, and things go wrong.  Fat fingers type in an SSN wrong.  I had a pal live most of his adult life under someone else's credit history because he was mistaken about his SSN number.  Stuff happens.  But $20M out of $2B?  That's not big money.  That's one dollar out of a hundred.

As a Commonwealth we lose hundreds of millions of dollars each year to retail fraud,  Where's your outrage on that?  I'm serious.  Love to hear your response.

Posted by raucous on 10/9/2013 8:01:00 AM (view original):

EBT Card Scam Shut Down In Lynn

December 13, 2011 7:39 PM

LYNN (CBS) – A year of police work paid off Tuesday in Lynn when officers shut down a long running scam.

Police moved in and shut down stores that they say were paying cash for food assistance cards and then turning them in to the state for money.

Police raided four Lynn mini marts that are suspected of fraud involving EBT, or Electronic Benefit Transfer cards. Steven Giles, a customer at the stores, says the scam is well known.

“It was pretty straight-forward,” says Giles. “You need cash, come down here and trade your food stamps for cash.”

During a yearlong investigation, undercover police say they discovered a scheme where stores not only bought EBT cards at half price, but also hooked up card sellers with crack cocaine dealers.

According to prosecutors, some of the stores did over half a million dollars in EBT fraud during the last 18 months alone.

 

I'm sorry, is this bad news or good news?

Someone tried to scam the system, and got caught.  Isn't that how it is supposed to work???

You must not be from Massachusetts or you are Deval Patrick.

Posted by nanu on 10/14/2013 10:09:00 AM (view original):

Posted by raucous on 10/14/2013 8:13:00 AM (view original):
Nope.  No fraud at all.  Wait until Obamacare kicks in.  At least private companies care about fraud.

that last sentence is the funniest thing i've ever heard.

why care when you just bake those costs into the price at retail? 

Because if they do nothing about it but jack their prices, they go out of business! 


Are you still using a calling card to make your calls?