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Inside the USDA’s Crackdown on a New Era of Food Stamp Fraud

Scott McClallen
Scott McClallen  |  January 24, 2026 7:00 PM

The United States Department of Agriculture is stomping out food benefits fraud, which has evolved over the decades. 

USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins has targeted fraud within the USDA, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that feeds about 41 million people. The food benefit program started in the 1960s but has ballooned in cost and size, according to federal documents.

 

 Snap Annualsummary 12  by  scott.mcclallen 


The nation’s population has increased since the 1960s but other factors matter too. One haunting problem is fraud. Food stamp fraud used to be mostly people selling their food stamps at stores and online, but now, it’s more sinister, easier to hide, and harder to bust. 

For example, one USDA employee and five others were charged in 2025. They were accused of stealing $66 million in SNAP benefits. 

Starting in 2019, former USDA employee Arlasa Davis allegedly spread 160 unauthorized electronic benefit transfer terminals across New York, where criminals stole about $30 million by swiping stolen SNAP cards. Those terminals are usually linked to Davis shared classified information that allowed the criminals to steal food benefits meant to feed hungry Americans. 

In another case, two men from Haiti stole $7 million from the SNAP program. The store owners sold benefits for cash, liquor, and more, according to court documents.  One store was only 150 square feet of space, but reported monthly SNAP redemptions ranging from $100,000 to $500,000. By comparison, one full-service supermarket in the same area redeems approximately $82,000 per month in SNAP benefits. The stores each had one register, no shopping carts, and no baskets.

Bonheur's store was only 150 square feet of space, but he reported monthly SNAP redemptions ranging from $100,000 to $500,000. By comparison, one full-service supermarket in the same area redeems approximately $82,000 per month in SNAP benefits. The stores each had one register, no shopping carts, and no baskets.