The USDA charged 33 Los Angeles retailers after a SNAP fraud operation targeting alleged trafficking and the sale of prohibited goods.
Snap Fraud Crackdown Targets Los Angeles Stores
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said its Food and Nutrition Administration issued formal charge letters to the retailers after investigators found violations involving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.
The operation took place July 2.
The USDA Office of Inspector General and Homeland Security Investigations executed search warrants at multiple SNAP retailer locations in the Los Angeles area.
USDA said six stores exchanged SNAP benefits for cash. It said another 27 stores exchanged benefits for ineligible items, including beer, hard seltzer, liquor, a vape device and other prohibited products.
The retailers face potential penalties, including permanent disqualification from SNAP and significant monetary fines.
“Fraud of any kind is a direct attack on American taxpayers and the vulnerable families who rely on SNAP to survive,” FNA Acting Administrator Shiela Corley said. “These actions reflect USDA’s uncompromising commitment to protecting SNAP by rooting out bad actors who seek to exploit the program for personal gain.”
USDA said FNA oversees SNAP-authorized retailers through tens of thousands of retailer evaluations and nearly 50,000 undercover compliance visits each year.
The agency said OIG and HSI add criminal investigative support to cases that may allow the U.S. Department of Justice to pursue charges.
“Homeland Security Investigations remains committed to combatting fraud in all its form and to ensuring that taxpayer dollars are used to help our neighbors in need and not to line the pockets of greedy criminals,” HSI Los Angeles Special Agent in Charge Eddy Wang said.
Wang said the enforcement operation showed HSI and its law enforcement partners would “bring accountability and deliver consequences to fraudsters everywhere.”
Acting United States Attorney Bill Essayli issued a sharper warning.
“The days of defrauding government benefit programs are over,” Essayli said. “We’re talking federal prison sentences, not state misdemeanor charges. You’ve been warned.”
USDA said FNA, OIG and HSI remain committed to a zero-tolerance approach to fraud, waste and abuse in SNAP.
The agency asked the public to report suspected nutrition assistance fraud through fna.usda.gov/fraud.
