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USDA, Secret Service Link EBT SNAP fraud with international crime rings

USDA, Secret Service Link EBT SNAP fraud with international crime rings

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Atlanta, GA. (Atlanta News First) -As a fraudster, hundreds of millions of taxpayers continue to steal dollars from Electronic Food Benefit (EBT) cards, the US Ministry of Agriculture (USDA) and US secret service with international crime rings.

The Special Investigations Branch, The Secret Service and Homeland Security of the USDA led to EBT on May 1, which was overtaken at more than 100 locations in Los Angeles. They found that they were made 10 arrests and confiscated “high -quality evidence”.

Atlanta News first Has examined the ongoing fraud and recently found in an investigation that fraudsters across the country Hacking -Store sales systems are to get services directly from the SNAP accounts (Supplemental Food Assistance Program).

It is still indefinite how fraudsters receive the PIN numbers of EBT recipients for cards.

In the past six months, Atlanta News investigates first spoke to dozens of people in Georgia and several other states who said that their families' food allowance has disappeared for the month after depositing their cards. The transactions in several conditions often take place in less than two minutes.

Many of the shops in which these fraudulent transactions are supposedly take place are not in the approved retailer database of the USDA, but the transactions are still being carried out.

While the USDA did not respond to inquiries about comments, a publication with regard to spiked operation was published in May and confirmed that criminal “clones of sales points” are.

“The latest investigations show that international criminal organizations are heavily involved and benefit from SNAP fraud,” said the department.

Criminals stolen around 350 million US dollars to taxpayers last year alone last year alone. The data provided by the USDA show a drastic increase in the latest EBT fraud across the country in the last quarter of 2024 with an increase of 350% compared to the first quarter.

The USDA will also no longer reimburse funds on December 20, 2024 if federal financing was assigned to terminate the problem.

“These are really sick and spoiled people who steal food from low -income Americans for their own profit,” said John Walk, deputy deputy of USDA among secretary, in the declaration. “It is particularly worrying when international criminal organizations postpone the taxpayers from SNAP beneficiaries to finance their own illegal activities.”

In an explanation, Sean Curran, director of Secret Service, “the secret service has the task of protecting the leaders of our nation and our financial infrastructure. For years we have tried to identify, monitor and eliminate organized crimes around the world that threatens our economic stability.

“Protecting the most endangered communities in our nation is a responsibility that we take very seriously, and I'm passionate,” said Curran.

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In the statement, the USDA also said that investigators work across the country.

What you can do

If you see or hear from fraud, you can report it anonymously in different ways:

  1. contact Your state.
  2. Call: (800) 424-9121; (202) 690-1202 (TDD)
  3. Write: USDA Office of Inspector General, Postfach 23399, Washington, DC 20026-3399
  4. ReportTo USDA OIG Online.

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