Feds charge 40 people in $40M SNAP fraud schemes

By Andrew Rice
The Center Square

Forty individuals have been charged in connection with more than $40 million in federal fraud, Vice President JD Vance announced Wednesday.

The individuals were charged in connection with fraud in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, a federally funded food assistance program for low-income individuals to purchase groceries.

The Trump administration has touted its pursuit of fraud since the anti-fraud task force was created in February. The White House has reportedly identified $260.7 billion in fraud across the federal government since Trump took office.

“We have way too much fraud in the SNAP program,” Vance said. “Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, we are fighting and winning the war against fraud in the SNAP program.”

Vance and U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche highlighted examples of individuals who committed fraud against SNAP. He said one man, named “Shawty Dread,” allegedly committed $4.4 million in fraud against SNAP.

Blanche claims the administration has uncovered $42 million in fraud from SNAP over the last year. He highlighted an example of a woman with two children who was denied purchasing food because funds from her SNAP account were depleted by fraud actors.

“Two hundred and twenty-thousand Americans could have eaten for the entire month of October if it weren’t for this $42 million in fraud,” Blanche argued. “This is a concerted effort to literally take food out of the mouths of children.”

Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald said federal prosecutors in Southern Ohio returned an indictment against two individuals over a loss of $29.7 million.

McDonald alleged the two men generated thousands of fake food purchases with SNAP funds. The men were charged and arrested in Chicago Wednesday morning.

“These cases and allegations reveal the scope of deception, greed and human exploitation permeating SNAP fraud schemes,” McDonald said. “There is no program too noble for a fraudster.”

On Tuesday, Trump and Vance unveiled a Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program, a $25 million effort to give Americans a 1% commission on credible fraud reports, The Center Square reported.

“These early-stage rewards aim to encourage prompt disclosure of information by giving whistleblowers more certainty about the amount and timing of a possible reward payment, while still leaving whistleblowers eligible for potentially larger rewards should their tips ultimately lead to large financial penalties or forfeiture,” the program’s webpage reads.

Vance touted the work of U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, to increase mandatory minimum prison sentences for fraud actors. He visited Ohio to campaign alongside Husted and Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican candidate for governor in the state, ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

“The fact that so many people feel like they can get rich off of our social safety net is evidence that for too long in this country we looked the other way,” Vance said.