Justice Department unearths $66 million SNAP fraud by USDA employees; new federal rule shifts fraud costs to states beginning ...

More families are struggling to buy food as SNAP benefit thefts spikes 55% with cards being drained the day funds are deposited onto the SNAP cards.

Why It Matters. SNAP benefits are paid to low- and no-income households across the U.S. that would otherwise struggle to afford groceries. Last year, the program reached some 41 million Americans.

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.

On June 27,  the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) released the annual Supplemental Nutrition ...

The USDA memo noted over $10 billion in improper SNAP payments in fiscal 2023, with unverified citizenship as one of seven reasons given in a Government Accountability Office report.

A new lawsuit filed Thursday says the U.S. Department of Agriculture's demand for sensitive data about millions of food assistance recipients violates federal privacy laws. Meanwhile some states ...

The Department of Agriculture is demanding sensitive data from states about more than 40 million food stamp recipients, as DOGE is amassing data for immigration enforcement.

The measure is meant to crack down on fraud and serve as a safeguard because illegal immigrants are already not allowed to use SNAP benefits. Only citizens and some legal noncitizens can do so.

USDA Cracks Down on SNAP Benefit Fraud. Published May 04, 2025 at 8:04 AM EDT. By . Aliss Higham is a Newsweek reporter based in Glasgow, Scotland.