Retail Application Food Stamp Fraud

The Impact of Food Stamp Fraud on Families and Communities

It is not something to smile about, as no one would want to be on welfare. You cannot find a family that celebrates collecting food stamps as it is usually a desperate option when all other options have failed. The majority of the families seeking government assistance programs, only desire to keep alive as they search for ways to get out of it.

Understanding the Food Stamp Program

The food stamp program is a government assistance initiative aimed at helping desperate families as a buffer against starvation and malnutrition. The main idea behind the food stamp initiative is to target households, which are having unemployed, underemployed and other unfortunate people. This means they use the food stamps to get their food from groceries until they can put their lives together.

In some instances, things do not work out for some people, and they can get a steady job that could allow them to take their families off the welfare dependence. Issues such as personal illness, sick children, and cut back in the number of working hours often have an abrupt reduction in household income. These unavoidable circumstances would make it difficult to make ends meet. This can lead to uncertainty and confusion, which often lead many people to use for ways to raise your income or ensure that the assistance being offered by the government last longer. When in such situations, many people end up in actions that are against the law.

Ensuring Accountability and Reducing Fraud

The food stamp is usually funded through the taxpayer’s money. This is the reason for aggressive supervision by the USDA’s food and nutrition service (FNS) in conjunction with states and other federal partners to make sure that every penny is accounted. It ensures that the occurring mistakes are corrected, and the waste, abuse, and fraud are eliminated.

While a large majority of the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) retailers and recipient are honest and play by the legal requirements, there are a few of them committing fraud. This has an adverse impact because it drains the public confidence in the program as well as the government. It also hurts the snap ability to serve millions of people who rely on the program for their health.

Types of Food Stamp Fraud

Trafficking is one of the major fraud issues affecting food stamp. Trafficking is where food stamp is sold for money or exchange with non-eligible items. It is usually committed by a food stamp recipient using their food stamps to buy items that are not eligible or in exchange for money. A retail store can be part of trafficking when it allows the exchange of cash for food stamps or selling other items that are illegible. If a retailer were found guilty of aiding trafficking, they would face server penalties, which may include permanent disqualification of the retailer from participating in the stamp program.

The increase in unemployment or cutting down on the working hours is on the increase. It is common for the people in need to underreport the number of hours that they work every month because it would have an effect on what they receive. There are others doing odds jobs, which cannot be traced on paper, and most people cannot report it. It would also be possible that many of the recipients have part-time jobs that pay good money, which they use to show that they are working hard while they still maintain other side jobs that pay much better. Not reporting side income or other sources of money is a violation of the law.

Food stamps fraud is also manifested when an individual decides to misreport on the number of people living in their households. If the number of individual living in the house is more, it requires more benefits to cater for them. It is required that a recipient reports the actual number of people living in their house, those who eat, sleep and are constantly living in the place. If any of the members move out of the home, the law requires that you report. Failing to make an accurate report on the number of individual living in your house is termed as a fraud. It may lead to suspension of your food stamp services either permanently or for a certain period. You may also be forced to pay back all the benefits you received fraudulently.

Retail stores are also known to commit food stamp fraud in various ways. It includes when a small neighborhood grocery store allows buying the food stamp items that are illegible. Some of the common items include alcoholic drinks and cigarettes, which are always compromised by the retailers. This type of fraud can have negative consequences for both the retailers and recipients.

Facing Accusations and Legal Defense

There are other ways that people try to fraud the stamp food services for their selfish gains. It is important to make sure that you play by the rules because some of the consequences are extremely severe. However, if you are charged with food stamp fraud, the first thing is to seek legal counsel. This will help determine the reason for breaking the law.

Being charged with a crime is not similar to committing a crime. The authority may be pointing out as possible suspects, but every person has a right to defend him or herself against the charges. It is common for innocent people who work very hard but still get nothing substantial, which makes them result to desperate actions to feed their families. The law gives every individual an opportunity for legal defense and the authority to prove their case against you.

It is common for people charged with tramp food fraud to undergo extreme pressure to make them confess to a crime. Most people are defeated by the state because they are in a vulnerable position and lack resources or confidence to defend themselves. You should not allow being treated inhumanly or with disrespect just because you are a recipient of government assistance. Finding a reliable legal representation is critical to ensuring that you have your dignity preserved and your case handled with respect. However, some fraud cases are meant to contravene the very objective of establishing this kind of assistance as some people use it for personal gains illegally.