Craigslist Makes Turning Food Stamps Into Cash A SNAP
” Food stamp recipients are turning the government handouts into quick cash with ads on Craigslist, despite efforts to stem fraud.
The federally-funded grocery assistance coupons — which are issued by states in the form of debit cards under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — are being sold on the online bulletin board as well as auction sites like eBay. FoxNews.com found several offerings at Craigslist sites around the country, where the sellers offered the welfare benefits at large discounts from face value.
The coupons are not supposed to be transferred, and Craigslist’s policy lists them among the items that are not allowed to be sold or bartered on the site. But unless someone flags such a post, there’s little the sites, which operate in small, medium and large markets around the country, can do. Critics suspect sellers either don’t need them any more because they have found work, or simply want to exchange them for cash so that they can buy drugs or other items that are not permitted under the rules of the program.
With one in every seven Americans on food stamps — up a million since June of last year — the impetus to cut down on fraud is rising. According to reports, nearly 850,000 people were investigated for possible SNAP fraud in the United States and 1,200 stores were permanently removed from the food stamp program for illegal conduct.”
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