Hochul, NYC DAs take victory lap on discovery laws that led to slew of criminal dismissals
It's a brand new discovery.
Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City's five district attorneys ran a victory lap Wednesday on a revamp to the state's discovery laws included in a sprawling budget bill.
The changes will prevent criminal cases from being thrown out over trivial mistakes and narrow how much evidence prosecutors must turn over to defense attorneys.
3 Gov. Kathy Hochul, along with five district attorneys across New York City, took a victory lap Wednesday for revamping the state's discovery laws while also including a $250 billion budget bill.
James Messerschmidt
Hochul, speaking alongside the district attorneys at Manhattan's state courthouse, had refused to budge on the issue — which caused a weeks-long impasse on the overall mammoth budget deal.
'I said all along I would hold up a $250 billion budget on this issue,' she said.
'And here's why: behind all the legal jargon that some may not quite comprehend, there's real peoples' lives at stake here.'
'You can't have violent criminals who hurt other human beings be able to walk free because of evidence that was irrelevant might have been excluded.'
3 The changes made will ensure that criminal cases won't be thrown out just purely over trivial mistakes, while also narrowing how much evidence prosecutors can turn over to defense attorneys.
James Messerschmidt
Big Apple prosecutors groused for years that 2019 reforms to the state's evidence-sharing laws — which were passed because many New Yorkers languished in jail awaiting trial on often-minor criminal charges — had led to a surge in case dismissals.
The reforms' onerous requirements forced prosecutors to turn over massive amounts of evidence, they complained.
Failing to turn over even inconsequential evidence led to accused criminals — including a man who allegedly beat his girlfriend and ripped off her clothes in front of his friends — walking free on technicalities, prosecutors argued.
3 Hochul initially refused to speak on the issue, which caused a weeks-long impasse before the budget deal got passed.
James Messerschmidt
The deal struck by Hochul and state lawmakers would, according to the governor's office:
Require courts to consider the prosecutor's efforts as a whole and whether missing evidence prejudiced the defense — an effort to prevent cases from being thrown out over insignificant mistakes;
Narrow the scope of what evidence prosecutors must turn over so not to include frivolous materials that have no real weight on the case
Clarify that cases should only be dismissed by judges if prosecutors did not exercise 'due diligence'
Require defense attorneys to challenge a prosecutor's certification that they've completed discovery effort within 35 days
'In broad strokes what the bill does is requires us to turn over materials as quickly and as efficiently as we can,' said Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon.
'If the defense has objections, they have to make those objections within 35 days,' McMahon said.
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Bloomberg
29 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Here's Where NYC Mayoral Candidates Stand on Key Issues
Skip to content Bloomberg the Company & Its Products Bloomberg Terminal Demo Request Bloomberg Anywhere Remote Login Bloomberg Customer Support The race to run New York City is heating up. Typically, the candidate who clinches the Democratic nomination for mayor is the presumptive winner in November's general election, but this year is different. The winner of the Democratic primary will face off in November against incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who has opted to run as an independent. Adams was the first New York mayor in modern history to be charged with federal crimes, though the case against the former police captain was permanently dismissed in April. Adams' legal problems and low poll numbers attracted a crowded field of challengers to the primary. Bloomberg News invited the top 10 Democratic candidates by dollars raised to sit for roundtable discussions consisting of open-ended and multiple-choice questions. Nine candidates gathered enough petition signatures to appear on the ballot in June. They will face off Wednesday in the first Democratic debate at 7 p.m. New York time. Former Governor Andrew Cuomo, the current front-runner ahead by more than double digits, declined to participate in the roundtable discussion. Speaker of the New York City Council Adrienne Adams, who is in third place according to some polls, also declined to participate. Bloomberg News compiled their assumed stances based on plans outlined on their campaign websites and previously published statements. The Candidates On June 24, voters will rank their top five candidates at the ballot box, choosing among a former governor who resigned in disgrace; current and former state and local officials; and a former hedge fund manager. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in the first tally, elimination rounds will be held until a candidate is declared the winner. In 2021, eight rounds were needed before Adams was announced as the winner. Here's where the candidates stand on a number of key issues impacting New Yorkers. Housing Number of Affordable Housing Units Started All nine candidates unanimously agree that New York, which has some of the highest average rents and lowest vacancy rates in the city's history, is in dire need of more affordable housing. Construction of new projects began at a sluggish pace at the start of the Adams administration in 2022, though the rate has since picked up. In 2024, construction began on more than 42,400 new units. Candidates have varying ideas on where to place some of the new housing units. Comptroller Brad Lander wants to build affordable communities on four of the 12 golf courses that are operated on city-owned land. And a number of candidates — including former Comptroller Scott Stringer and State Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani — want to use vacant city-owned parcels and crack down on unscrupulous landlords to meet their housing commitments. State Senator Zellnor Myrie has committed to building 1 million homes over the next decade. How many new affordable housing units would you plan to build or make available in your first term of four years? All but one candidate indicated that a rent freeze on the city's stabilized housing could be plausible. Several said they wanted to see more data before committing, but former hedge fund executive Whitney Tilson said supporting a rent freeze isn't part of his agenda. Annual Rent Increases for Rent-Stabilized Apartments During former Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration, from 2014 through 2021, city officials froze rents at regulated properties four times. But under Adams, city officials have approved rent increases every year. The Rent Guidelines Board, whose nine members are appointed by the mayor, is the governing body that sets the rent increases for the city's 1 million rent-stabilized dwellings. State Senator Jessica Ramos is among the candidates who say more tenant advocates should be named to the board so it would be more representative of everyday New Yorkers. Lander and Cuomo have also called for reforming who is on the board. Crime and Incarceration Under Mayor Adams, murders and shootings are trending down, while violent incidents like assaults and robberies have risen and haven't returned to prepandemic levels. That's contributed to a perception of disorder in the nation's biggest city. Crime and Offense Incidents Today, the New York Police Department employs around 34,000 officers, nearly 1,000 short of its budgeted headcount. More than 5,000 officers will be retirement-eligible in 2025 too. For the coming fiscal year, the department is set to receive more than $6.1 billion for its operations, $300 million more than its allocated amount last year. However, the department exceeds its budget on an annual basis due to overtime costs that the City Council has described as 'potential corruption.' This year it's on pace to spend $1.1 billion on overtime, nearly double its budgeted figure. What will you prioritize first to address crime in New York City? Currently, the NYPD is helmed by Jessica Tisch, who took over in November, becoming the fourth NYPD commissioner of Mayor Adams' first term. Tisch, who previously served as the city's sanitation commissioner, has been seen as a bright spot in an Adams administration beset by scandals. Would you keep NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch if elected? In 2017, the city passed a law to close the city's Rikers Island jail complex and replace it with smaller jails in four boroughs (all except Staten Island) by 2027. City officials have admitted that timeline is no longer feasible because of delays and cost overruns. Will you close Rikers? Will you adjust any of the plans for the replacement jails for Rikers? Cost of Living Citywide Hourly Minimum Wage From groceries and utility bills to rent and childcare, the cost-of-living squeeze has hit New York harder than many other parts of the country. From 2018 through 2023, the minimum wage in the city for companies employing more than 10 workers remained stagnant at $15 an hour, despite the city facing some of the worst inflation in decades. Minimum wage stands now at $16.50 an hour, with one more 50-cent increase set to take effect in January. Further increases will be tied to the regional Consumer Price Index. What do you think the standard minimum wage should be in 2025? The city has made progress on childcare affordability in recent years with the implementation of a 3-K program, but residents are still feeling the pinch. Full-Time Nanny Average Weekly Rate The City's 3-K program, which was originally planned by de Blasio, offers free six-hour schooling for 3-year-olds. However, seat availability often doesn't line up with demand. Districts in some parts of Queens and Brooklyn tend to have more empty seats, while neighborhoods with more high-performing schools have long waitlists. Parents in those districts often opt for out-of-pocket schools or full-time at-home options. Private options aren't cheap either. According to the weekly cost of hiring a full-time nanny in the city has gone up more than 37% since before the pandemic, from nearly $700 to $960. Education NYC Public Schools K-12 Enrollment Education is the single biggest expense in the city's $115 billion budget, with 36 cents of every dollar the city spends going toward funding for schools and the Department of Education. But K-12 enrollment has dropped by more than 60,000 students over the past 10 years. Some parents decided to put their children through private schooling during and after the pandemic, and many families have opted to leave the city altogether. Do you more broadly have reforms you want to make to education? Would you institute anything to make up for pandemic education losses and decreases in enrollment? A looming question for the next mayor is how to lure students back into the school system, and how to make up for pandemic education losses — from remote schooling to mental-health issues. Some candidates are proposing curriculum additions like financial studies, media literacy and beefing up critical-thinking modules. In recent years, a polarizing debate over the future of the city's specialized high school admissions process has divided New Yorkers, with some opponents of the test arguing the process discriminates against Blacks and Hispanics. Eighth- and ninth-graders can take a standardized test to gain admittance into one of the system's eight specialized high schools. Entrance is highly competitive. More than 25,000 students sat for the test last year. Just over 4,000 students earned a spot. The ninth specialized school admits students based on auditions. Transit MTA Annual Ridership All of the candidates are mostly in support of the first-ever congestion pricing program in the US. The next mayor will have to work with Governor Kathy Hochul to save the program from the Trump administration's effort to eliminate it. Most of the candidates are also proposing making transit more accessible by expanding the city's Fair Fares program, which lets eligible riders commute for half price. One of Mamdani's signature policies is making city buses free altogether. The city's Independent Budget Office estimates that making buses free will cost $650 million a year. Migration New York is a so-called sanctuary city: Local agencies are restricted in how much they can support federal immigration enforcement to establish a more welcoming atmosphere to immigrants. Deportations in New York sharply increased during President Donald Trump's first administration, and the trend could continue again after he proposed a hefty increase in funding for the Department of Homeland Security. Trump Trump, a native New Yorker, has already targeted his hometown multiple times in the first few months of his second term. He's cut $400 million in funding to city agencies and is trying to kill congestion pricing. Trump also pulled $400 million in federal funding from Columbia University, before the Morningside Heights-based college yielded to several of his demands to get the funding reinstated. New York City currently receives 7% to 8% of its overall budget from federal funds, money that could be in jeopardy, given that Trump has proposed deeper cuts in his new budget plan. How do you plan to engage with the Trump Administration? Climate Change Local Law 97 Complicance New York City is one of the worst emissions-producing cities in the world. In 2019, city officials passed Local Law 97, which mandated strict carbon caps on a majority of buildings larger than 25,000 square feet. Buildings will be subject to additional emissions restrictions beginning in 2030 — part of an ambitious goal to make the city carbon-neutral by 2050. Taxes Key Line Items in NYC FY2025 Budget The nine candidates have big plans for the city, but how they will pay for their ambitious new agenda items is a more difficult question. Mayors don't have the authority to raise or lower taxes, except for their ability to adjust city property tax levies. Any new taxes or increases in existing tax rates have to be approved by the state legislature and the governor. Four of the nine candidates said they can pay for their entire agenda without raising any taxes. Other candidates want to leverage city property tax reform to fund their agenda. Mamdani, who is currently polling in second, wants to raise the highest corporate tax rate to that of New Jersey's — 11.5%, up from 7.5% — to fund his programs. How will you pay for your agenda? Candidates were also asked if there was a city law or agency that they would get rid of. Responses varied widely. What is a city law or agency that you would get rid of? Coalitions Since 2021, New York City has used ranked choice in primaries for certain elected offices: mayor, public advocate, comptroller, borough president and city council. Which mayoral candidate did you rank first in 2021? That makes it advantageous for candidates to start building coalitions on who else to list besides themselves. For now, some progressive and liberal opponents of Cuomo are simply recommending something they're calling the 'ABC strategy, or 'anyone but Cuomo.' Tilson, however, said he is mostly aligned with Cuomo on a policy basis. 'But I don't have the history or baggage that he has,' Tilson said. Since it's ranked choice voting, who should your voters rank second? On May 30, the Working Families party released its slate of candidates to rank: Mamdani first, followed by Lander, Adrienne Adams, Myrie and Ramos. The party has indicated that if none of its endorsed candidates win the primary, it will name one person to run on the WFP ballot line in the November general election. Cuomo has also indicated that he will run as an independent in November if he doesn't earn the Democratic nomination. The race to City Hall has really only just begun.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Can Zohran Mamdani's Volunteer Army Pull Off An Election Day Upset?
This article was produced in partnership with THE CITY, a nonprofit newsroom covering New York City. On a glum Wednesday evening recently, most New Yorkers were tucked away in their apartments, avoiding the persistent drizzle. This is exactly the scenario Mohit Sani and Dylan Halper were hoping for. Halper drums a cheery knock on the door of an Upper East Side apartment. A woman named Maria steps out, pushing her yapping dog behind her. 'My name is Dylan, and this is Mohit. We're volunteers with Zohran Mamdani's campaign for mayor,' Halper begins. Just 18 years old but already a canvassing veteran, Halper is partnered up with Sani, a first-timer, so Halper takes the lead. 'Democrat or Republican?' Maria asks skeptically. She's never heard of Mamdani before. 'Democrat,' Halper reassures her, 'he wants to freeze the rent for rent-stabilized tenants.' 'That's me!' she exclaims. Soon, Maria says the magic words: 'He's got my vote.' She even thanks the two volunteers for coming. Halper and Sani are among the thousands of volunteers who are aiming to elect the 33-year-old Mamdani as the next mayor of New York City. A state Assembly member from Queens and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), Mamdani is running on a platform of affordability: free buses, city-run grocery stores, universal child care and a rent freeze. So far, he's beaten expectations, emerging from a pack of progressives as a strong number two in the polls. His progressive campaign plank, delivered via slick social media videos, earned him support from the 'terminally online.' And he's maxed out his campaign contributions with individual donors: Over 27,000 people have donated to his campaign — 12,000 more than city Comptroller Brad Lander, the candidate with the next highest number of donors. To his supporters, Mamdani is a young Bernie Sanders or a socialist Barack Obama. But to his detractors, he is inexperienced, a 'show pony,' a nepo baby and even an antisemite. If elected, Mamdani would be the first Muslim mayor of New York, and his views on what he unapologetically refers to as a genocide in Gaza have made him vulnerable to attacks from pro-Israel candidates — the mainstream position for NYC politicians, who have made visits to Israel part and parcel of the job. And he's still lagging former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has been polling first in the contest before he even entered it and has maintained a solid lead since, although a recent Emerson poll has Mamdani closing the gap to single digits in the final round of a ranked choice voting tally. Cuomo has raised the most money and is backed by well-funded local super PACs called independent expenditure groups. But the Mamdani campaign is banking on one thing to set them apart: their ground game. According to the campaign, nearly 30,000 people have signed up to canvass, and they've knocked on more than 750,000 doors. Mamdani has called it 'the largest volunteer operation in NYC history.' It's certainly the largest one happening this election cycle. Mamdani's canvassers are in every borough, every night of the week. It can be a thankless task. In the city, volunteers must work their way into apartment buildings, past doormen and buzzer systems — often only to find themselves on the ground floor of one of New York's infamous walk-ups. And more often than not, no one is home. But that does not discourage Halper and Sani. Halper, a member of the DSA like Mamdani, is inspired by the candidate's vision for New York City. But like many other volunteers, he's not immune to the pull of something much more tangible — merch. All Mamdani volunteers receive a 'ZetroCard' — it looks like a MetroCard, but with spaces on the back to mark how many times they've canvassed. Halper has heard that if he fills out the card fast enough, he'll get a poster — a coveted keepsake that he can't get anywhere else. In fact, none of the campaign's swag is available for purchase — a result of New York City's campaign finance laws, according to Mamdani spokesperson Andrew Epstein. It's turned Zohran-branded items into cult collectibles — like vibrant yellow bandanas decorated with classic NYC iconography such as pigeons and hot dogs — worn by volunteers or tied onto their tote bags. And the only way to get one is to show up — something the campaign makes very easy to do. 'I've thought about volunteering for other things, and no one replies to your emails, or you have to apply and go do this thing, and then they only have one shift a week — and it's when you work,' said Anna Henderson, 25. But the Mamdani signups are simple and numerous: 'When I decided to do it, I just clicked on a day I could go in my neighborhood and just went,' Henderson said. Now, she's a seasoned Lower East Side canvasser. The low barrier to entry — and the opportunity to canvass in your own neighborhood — has benefits and drawbacks. On one hand, volunteers can pull in their own neighborhood-specific information, like a local bus that was free due to Mamdani's legislation. On the other, it leaves some neighborhoods like Williamsburg and Astoria canvass-dense, while the entire South Bronx has no canvasses at all. One field lead in The Bronx, Maxwell Dickinson, ventured out on a Saturday afternoon with a diverse group of volunteers, including multiple people over 40, a vital demographic Mamdani needs but has not yet cornered. Originally from Miami, Dickinson now lives in Riverdale. He likes to open his canvassing conversations with Mamdani's free bus platform and mentions universal child care if he sees a kid in the apartment. 'Personally, I've never mentioned that he's in the DSA, especially being from Miami,' Dickinson said, referring to that city's socialism-skeptical Cuban population. 'But maybe that's me being paranoid.' The Bronx canvassers know that their borough is being underserved. Over coffee and pancakes at a diner, they chat after the canvass about ways to expand their operation. One volunteer said she thinks Parkchester would be receptive to Mamdani because of its large Bengali population. Another suggested that the campaign partner with local organizations to help get the word out. 'You need people who are from there,' Dickinson agreed. Mamdani is following in the footsteps — literally — of another NYC Democratic Socialist: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. In 2018, Ocasio-Cortez touted her ground game as essential to her defeat of incumbent Rep. Joseph Crowley. Her worn-down shoes, once displayed in a Cornell museum, became a symbol of how speaking to people face-to-face could make the difference for underdog candidates. (Ocasio-Cortez has not yet made an endorsement in the mayoral race.) But Ocasio-Cortez had to mobilize voters in her district in The Bronx and Queens only; Mamdani needs to reach people across the five boroughs. The turnout for the congressional primary was also incredibly low — at only 11.8% of registered Democratic voters — so the supporters Ocasio-Cortez reached through her door-knocking had an outsized effect. Because Mamdani's canvasses are mostly available in neighborhoods where many volunteers live, it's easy to see where his voter base lies: Bushwick and Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn, the East Village in Manhattan and Astoria in Queens offer the most frequent canvass opportunities at five days a week. But the younger, often transplant-heavy population of those neighborhoods may not actually turn out for the election. In 2021, the west side of Manhattan — from Greenwich Village up to Columbia University — had some of the highest voter turnout at between 30% to 40%, whereas Bushwick in Brooklyn saw around 14%. Plus, younger voters are notorious for staying home: Only 18% of registered Dems between 18 and 29 voted in the 2021 mayoral primary, compared to over double that percentage for 70- to 79-year-olds. The median age of a New York primary voter is 54. Some Mamdani organizers are trying to change that. At first, Myesha Choudry canvassed for Mamdani everywhere from Hillside, Queens, to Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, to Staten Island. She was especially inspired by her conversations with small business owners in Jackson Heights. 'I was literally speaking about New York City politics in Bangla, in my native language, to New Yorkers who had been here for decades and decades,' she said. But unlike those she spoke to, Choudry wanted to reach people who haven't lived in the city long enough to get a feel for local politics — and may not plan to stay long enough to care. 'I feel like it's so important for young adults who have been living the dream in New York to uplift New York as well,' explained Choudry. To get young New Yorkers off of their phones and into their communities, she was part of creating Hot Girls 4 Zohran. The organization, which is not affiliated with the campaign, hosts picnics, postering sessions, raves, fundraisers and, of course, canvasses. Bright and early on a Sunday morning, 15 of the Hot Girls chatted and cheered as they made their way down Central Park West, papering lampposts with pink posters that paired a Mamdani plank with an instruction not to rank Cuomo — a position the official canvassers take, as well. 'Cuomo's literally hiding from New Yorkers because he knows if he's confronted about his platform, he's screwed,' one said, taping a poster. Cuomo has appeared at very few candidate forums, and is not taking an on-the-street campaign approach. 'I saw something like 'New York deserves a hot mayor,' and that's true. Hot girls deserve a hot mayor.' Compared to Mamdani and most of the field, Cuomo has avoided many public appearances, and for some, the sexual harassment allegations that drove him out of office — which Cuomo continues to deny — may be disqualifying. But his campaign has amassed a formidable slate of boosters. Cuomo has picked up major endorsements from large unions — even those who called for his resignation in 2021 — whose money, influence and members go a long way in city elections. He's also focused on courting Black clergy members in a bid to win over a demographic that helped propel Mayor Eric Adams to victory last cycle. 'The benefits of what he's doing is to maintain a frontrunner status — to not let opponents attack you personally,' explained political consultant Hank Sheinkopf. 'They're empty voices talking into a vacuum, and he's not responding to them, which makes them less consequential.' Of course, the canvassers want Mamdani to win. And increasingly, at least to the volunteers, his campaign seems like less of a long shot. 'I am not under any illusions that he has it in the bag,' said Henderson from the Lower East Side. 'But I don't think it's impossible. It doesn't feel like a lost cause,' she said. 'I guess I'm canvass-pilled.' After his first time canvassing, the experience on the Upper East Side has left Sani more energized than when he began. 'I look at my past self, and I see someone who watched John Oliver, watched 'The Daily Show,' watched Hasan Minhaj, and I felt politically active — but when I look back, I did nothing,' Sani mused. 'I was angry all day, but nothing happened from that anger.' 'Now, I do not watch John Oliver, I do not watch 'The Daily Show,' I do not watch Hasan Minhaj. And I'm a thousand times more politically active,' he continued. 'And then I can go to bed at night, and I'm not stressed existentially about it.' But inspiring 29,000 canvassers may not be enough. With early voting starting on June 14 and primary day just three weeks away, the volunteer army still has a lot of work to do to inspire voters — and it's running out of time. Inside the cramped vestibule of an Upper East Side apartment, Sani hits the buzzer. He's pushed a few so far, with no answer. But this time, a garbled voice comes from the other side, asking: Who's there? 'I'm here to talk about Zohran,' Sani says, rushing through the words. But the voice on the other end is confused: 'What?' 'I'm here to talk to tenants about Zohran Mamdani?' Sani tries again. No acknowledgement. One last try: 'I'm here to talk about the election?' 'Oh,' says the voice on the other end, sounding disappointed. 'You woke me up. I was sleeping.' 'I'm sorry for waking you up,' Sani says. He's genuinely contrite and, turning to Halper, asks, 'Did I do something wrong?'
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
USDA charges 6 in $66M food stamps scheme — calling it ‘one of the largest' such fraud cases in US history
The U.S. Department of Justice has charged six people — including a fraud investigator with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) — for allegedly orchestrating 'one of the largest food stamp scams in U.S. history,' siphoning tens of millions from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, the group ran a fraudulent network of about 160 unauthorized electronic benefit transfer (EBT) terminals across the New York area. These machines processed more than $30 million in illegal SNAP transactions, part of a larger scheme that generated an estimated $66 million in unauthorized benefits. Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can now become a landlord for as little as $100 — and no, you don't have to deal with tenants or fix freezers. Here's how I'm 49 years old and have nothing saved for retirement — what should I do? Don't panic. Here are 5 of the easiest ways you can catch up (and fast) Nervous about the stock market in 2025? Find out how you can access this $1B private real estate fund (with as little as $10) Prosecutors allege that the group accepted bribes and submitted fraudulent USDA applications to obtain SNAP approval for unqualified stores. One of the defendants, USDA employee Arlasa Davis, is accused of selling confidential government information to the very criminals she was meant to stop. 'This fraud was made possible when USDA employee Arlasa Davis betrayed the public trust by selling confidential government information to the very criminals she was supposed to catch,' U.S. Attorney Perry Carbone said in a press release. 'Their actions undermined a program that vulnerable New Yorkers depend on for basic nutrition.' SNAP — formerly known as the food stamp program — is the country's largest federal nutrition assistance program. It provides monthly benefits to help low-income families buy groceries and reduce food insecurity, serving an average of 42.1 million people per month in 2023. In fiscal year 2023, the federal government allocated nearly $112.8 billion to SNAP, according to the USDA's Economic Research Service. About 94% of that went directly to households trying to keep food on the table. The remaining 6% covered state administrative costs, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. But questions about oversight are growing. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins told Fox Business she believes that 20 to 30% of the program's annual funding — now estimated closer to $200 billion — may be lost to fraud. The recently uncovered $66 million scheme, she says, is 'just the tip of the spear.' 'It's time for real, effective change,' Rollins said. Read more: Want an extra $1,300,000 when you retire? Dave Ramsey says — and that 'anyone' can do it Federal officials say the scheme began back in 2019, when Michael Kehoe allegedly created a network to supply unauthorized EBT terminals to small businesses across the New York area. According to prosecutors, Kehoe and his associates falsified USDA applications, misused license numbers and altered key documents to get fraudulent retailers approved for SNAP. Kehoe and Davis are among six people now facing charges for conspiracy to steal government funds and misappropriate USDA benefits. The others include Mohamad Nawafleh, Omar Alrawashdeh, Gamal Obaid and Emad Alrawashdeh. But this case isn't an isolated case. A separate FOX10 investigation found that thousands of families in Alabama were recently targeted in another EBT fraud scheme. Between September and December 2024, more than $12.4 million was stolen from EBT cardholders, according to the Alabama Department of Human Resources. More than 373,000 households in the state rely on those benefits. Despite high-profile cases, fraud within SNAP is relatively rare. The introduction of EBT cards in the late 1990s replaced paper coupons, making benefits more secure and harder to misuse. As a result, SNAP fraud declined from about 4 cents on the dollar in 1993 to approximately 1 cent by 2006, and even lower in subsequent years. As the investigation unfolds — and new fraud cases emerge across the U.S. — officials warn that similar scams may still be operating, adding pressure on government agencies to tighten oversight of vital aid programs. Here are 5 'must have' items that Americans (almost) always overpay for — and very quickly regret. How many are hurting you? Rich, young Americans are ditching the stormy stock market — here are the alternative assets they're banking on instead Robert Kiyosaki warns of a 'Greater Depression' coming to the US — with millions of Americans going poor. But he says these 2 'easy-money' assets will bring in 'great wealth'. How to get in now This is how American car dealers use the '4-square method' to make big profits off you — and how you can ensure you pay a fair price for all your vehicle costs Like what you read? Join 200,000+ readers and get the best of Moneywise straight to your inbox every week. This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
