Food Stamps: If SNAP Benefits Are Stolen, Are States Legally Obligated To Reimburse Them?
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Josephine Nesbit
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Cory Dudak
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A growing number of low-income households have reported stolen SNAP benefits. Federal and state lawmakers have passed legislation to replace electronically stolen SNAP benefits, but there’s no legal obligation to fully reimburse stolen benefits that exceed a certain amount.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service, SNAP benefits that were electronically stolen between Oct. 1, 2022, and Sept. 30, 2024 can be replaced using federal funds. Only SNAP benefits stolen via card skimming, cloning and phishing tactics are eligible for reimbursement.
But under federal guidelines, the replacement of stolen benefits for a household cannot exceed the amount equal to two months of the monthly allotment. There are also deadlines for reimbursement applications.
However, states can pass laws to fill gaps using a combination of state and federal funds, The Baltimore Banner reported.
Maryland passed a law in favor of full reimbursement, but reimbursement approval rates — $12.2 million verified stolen versus $11.7 million reimbursed — show many victims only received a portion of the amount stolen, according to Maryland Department of Human Services (DHS) data shared with The Banner. Public records and interviews with advocates and welfare recipients suggest the DHS is likely prioritizing federal reimbursement requirements despite having passed a law in favor of full reimbursement without deadlines or limits.
“Unfortunately, it doesn’t surprise me a ton,” Ashley Burnside, a senior policy analyst at the Center for Law and Social Policy, said to The Banner regarding the DHS’ interpretation of state law. “At the end of the day, states are hesitant to spend their own revenue often when there’s opportunity to use federal dollars.”
Scripp News reporters sent surveys to SNAP agencies in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., and found at least 106,000 cases of stolen food stamps across 46 states, adding up to more than $70 million.
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