Food stamp abuse

by Pat Meehan - No Comments
Posted on March 1st, 2010 2:15 pm

A story out of Michigan today notes that federal taxpayer funded food stamps are being used for items such as liquor, Viagra, and porn.; It’s part of a culture of waste and abuse that officials say represents nearly $100 million in fraud in the food stamp program since 2007.

As the AP notes, this is a growing problem:

Among the latest cases: A store west of downtown Detroit is accused of selling bags of the exotic chewy drug khat in exchange for food-stamp benefits. Agents in another investigation discovered that cash was wired to Somalia and other countries.

In another case, a market owner in Detroit was sentenced to three years in prison after committing $1.2 million in fraud by trading food stamps for cash. The money was used by the convicted owner for mortgage payments, to lease three vehicles, and purchase property in Israel. An Assistant U.S. Attorney said it was unlikely the government would ever recover the $1.2 million defrauded from taxpayers.

But food stamps are not just being abused for personal benefit. The fraud is also being used to further the illegal drug trade. As the article also notes:

In Chicago, an illegal immigrant was sentenced to nearly three years in prison last year after plowing $1.1 million in stolen food-stamp benefits into an international pseudoephedrine ring. It's a key ingredient in methamphetamine.

Government officials claim that the $100 million represents only a fraction of the federal food stamp program. That may be the case, but it still represents a tremendous amount of waste. Also, looking at some of these cases, I suspect the estimate of $100 million in fraud since 2007 may be low. Taxpayers work hard to support themselves and their families, and every dollar counts.

As a former U.S. Attorney, I know that fraud against the federal government is nothing new. But with Congress approving ever increasing federal deficit spending – resulting in mounting national debt – it continues to amass huge financial burdens to be passed off on future generations. Rather than continuing to spend without regard for the future, Congress needs to buckle down and launch a more concerted effort to root out waste and abuse.

Government administrators of federal programs need to be held accountable for abuse and fraud that occur on their watch. There needs to be an increased incentive on the part of federal agencies to implement stricter controls.

And all parties involved in the abuse need to know that there will be consequences for their behavior.

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