Another Oklahoman hit by SNAP benefits crime ring

Yahoo

01-04-2025

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — We are hearing from another Oklahoman whose SNAP benefits, or food stamps, were stolen.
This latest victim was in the hospital unaware of what happened until it was too late.
Federal funding to replace SNAP benefits stolen ran out in December. Now, those who continue to get hit by this crime ring, are left with nothing, needing to survive until the next month's benefits arrive.
Reimbursement funds expire for stolen snap benefits
'I was hospitalized for a week, and when I was released from the hospital a week ago, I went to go check my benefits to get some food, and my benefits had all been stolen,' she said.
Another Oklahoman was hit by scammers, wiping their benefits right off their card.
We are concealing this woman's identity due to a domestic violence case.
She is already dealing with plenty, so this was the last thing she needed to see once she was released from the hospital.
'I called the Oklahoma line and she just started apologizing and saying they've had a lot of calls of a lot of benefits that had been stolen, and that the reimbursement fund or program had been stopped,' she said. 'So, the chances of me ever seeing my food stamp money ever again was going to be very, very slim.'
She says after hearing this, she wasn't sure what she was going to do, putting her in a bind.
'I have a rare form of lupus and my appetite does get affected by that,' she said. 'The things that I need right now, I don't have.'
Special agent explains how thieves profit from stolen snap benefits
We reached out to the Department of Human Services to see if there was anything they could do on the state level to stop this.
Unfortunately, they said as of now, there isn't much they can do.
In our ongoing efforts to protect Oklahoma families, Oklahoma Human Services continues to work diligently with our federal partners to reduce the theft of SNAP benefits.
Oklahoma Department of Human Services
Many Oklahomans continue to ask for more to be done to protect their benefits.
'It doesn't feel like the federal government's doing enough to protect the card,' she said. 'Maybe the state does need to have a reimbursement fund for emergencies like this, because right now we can't do anything.'
DHS also said they are a few months away from rolling out new features for SNAP recipients that will provide more security for every Oklahoman.
In the meantime, DHS recommends you lock your card after each use.
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