U.S. food stamp fraud enforcement surge uncovers $42 million; more than 40 charged or sentenced, including Romanian ring unlawfully in the U.S.

WASHINGTON

The U.S. Justice Department, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the USDA Office of Inspector General (USDA OIG) on the 21st (local time) announced the results of a nationwide enforcement surge against fraud targeting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the food assistance program for low-income people known as food stamps. In the surge, which ran from Sept. 1 through the day of the announcement, more than 40 defendants were subject to legal action such as charges, guilty pleas or sentencing. The Justice Department said the intended losses in these cases totaled nearly $45 million, of which nearly $42 million was related to SNAP fraud. In an Oregon case, most members of a theft crew that used stolen benefits to buy infant formula and other goods were Romanian nationals unlawfully present in the United States.

Justice Department mobilizes 13 U.S. attorney's offices and Utah for first nationwide surge

According to the Justice Department's press release (No. 26-1238), the official name of the operation is the "National USDA Benefits and Program Fraud Enforcement Surge." The Justice Department called it "the Department's first" such surge. The surge was led by the Justice Department's National Fraud Enforcement Division, together with 13 U.S. attorney's offices and the Utah Attorney General's Office.

The participating U.S. attorney's offices were those for the Eastern District of Arkansas, the Middle District of Florida, the Northern District of Georgia, the Northern District of Iowa, the District of Maryland, the Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan, the Eastern District of Missouri, the Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio, the Northern District of Oklahoma, the District of Oregon and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Investigators included USDA OIG as well as the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), the Small Business Administration and Social Security Administration offices of inspector general, the Postal Inspection Service and the Secret Service. The Georgia and Oklahoma human services departments' offices of inspector general, the Georgia Office of the Inspector General, the Missouri Department of Social Services, the Nevada Attorney General's Office, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the police departments of Dearborn, Euclid, Taylorsville and Tulsa were also listed.

The Justice Department said one of the cases involved fraud targeting the USDA crop insurance program. The press release separately highlighted 10 cases as "Notable cases."

Secretary Rollins says "every instance of SNAP fraud has two victims," vows prosecution to the fullest

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said, "Every instance of SNAP fraud has two victims: families in dire need and taxpayers." Rollins said that today the government was again putting fraudsters on notice that it will find them and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law. She went on to say, "Under the Trump Administration, food stamp fraud ends now."

Attorney General Todd Blanche said these schemes siphoned millions of dollars from taxpayers and took away benefits that struggling Americans rely on so fraudsters could line their own pockets. Blanche said that through cooperation with the Agriculture Department, the surge exposed and dismantled criminal organizations targeting vulnerable American families. He said the Justice Department would continue rooting out fraud in every federal agency and program.

Colin McDonald, the assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department's National Fraud Enforcement Division, said the human cost of such fraud is measured not in spreadsheets but in the fear of a mother whose card is declined because someone stole her benefits and in the hunger her children endure. He said such crimes erode taxpayers' trust in a program designed to feed Americans.

USDA inspector general says "this surge is only the beginning," signals more enforcement

USDA Inspector General John Walk said SNAP fraud takes away the share of low-income people who rely on food assistance and diverts taxpayer money into fraudsters' pockets. Walk said this money is used to "bankroll other criminal activities like guns and drugs" that make American communities less safe. He said, "No more!" and added that he was honored to stand with Vice President Vance that day. Walk said the surge produced meaningful legal action in dozens of cases nationwide and that "This surge is only the beginning."

The Justice Department said the surge was part of the work of a government-wide task force to eliminate fraud chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance. According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS), President Trump signed Executive Order 14395, "Establishing the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud," on March 16. The order named the vice president as chair and the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission as vice chair, and designated at least 11 departments and agencies as members, including the Departments of Agriculture, Justice, Homeland Security and the Treasury, the Office of Management and Budget and the Small Business Administration. The task force was charged with developing a national strategy to prevent fraud, waste and abuse in federal benefit programs, with priorities including strengthening eligibility verification and prepayment controls, dismantling fraud organizations, blocking remittances linked to proceeds of benefit fraud, and analyzing data on retailers and others that accept benefit payments. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon said the Justice Department announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division on April 7.

John Condon, acting executive associate director of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), said HSI is identifying and dismantling criminal organizations that exploit this vital program through skimming devices, stolen identities, sham retailers and other means. Condon said those who profit by stealing public benefits should know that HSI will follow the evidence and the money to hold them accountable.

Two Chicago grocery operators accused of diverting $29.7 million using Ohio cards

The largest of the notable cases by loss amount is that of Jorag Yaseen and Rami Kanaan, charged in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. According to the charges described by the Justice Department, the two operated an authorized grocery retailer in Chicago, Illinois, and used stolen electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card information from Ohio and other states. They are accused of processing thousands of transactions that were not actual sales from about February 2024 to about April 2025, moving millions of dollars in federal funds into accounts they controlled. The Justice Department estimated the loss at about $29.7 million.

According to the Justice Department, the indictment alleges that three interstate wire transactions totaling $1,243.46 were processed on March 4, 2024, using a stolen Ohio EBT card in the name of a Greene County resident. Prosecutors alleged that some of the proceeds were used to buy vehicles for personal use or for shipment overseas. The charges are conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering (Case No. 3:26-cr-00099-TMR).

Oregon infant formula theft crew made up mostly of Romanians unlawfully in the U.S.

According to the Justice Department, the organization in the case of "United States v. Dumitru et al." (Case No. 3:24-cr-00383-AN) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon stole SNAP account information using skimming devices and other means, then bought large quantities of infant formula and food in Oregon, Washington, California and elsewhere. The press release said members of the theft crew, "most of whom were Romanian nationals unlawfully present in the United States," carried out the scheme.

A transport crew led by Ana Patricia Escalante bought the goods from the theft crew. The transport crew stockpiled them in homes and storage units, then moved them by personal vehicles and commercial carriers for resale on the black market. Commercial shipping records showed more than 124,000 pounds of infant formula shipped from the organization's storage facilities, with an estimated value of more than $2.4 million. The Justice Department said the organization drained benefits from thousands of low-income families across the country. Escalante was sentenced on Sept. 9 to 27 months in prison and ordered to pay $2.4 million in restitution.

According to an indictment announcement issued by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon on Oct. 24, 2024, there are 17 defendants in the case. The scheme ran from August 2023 to October 2024, and the goods purchased, including infant formula and energy drinks, weighed more than 120,000 pounds. The goods were stockpiled in homes and warehouses in Oregon and Washington and then moved to California, and the charge at the time was conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government. As of the announcement on the 21st, 12 of the 17 had been sentenced, to a combined 157 months. The Oct. 21 press release put the intended loss in the case at $4.4 million.

The same office also charged Romanians unlawfully present in the United States in a separate case. According to a Dec. 18, 2025, announcement, Romanian nationals Alexandru Telescu, 29, and Aramis Manolea, 35, were indicted on 26 counts. The charges are conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government, access device fraud, possession of and trafficking in device-making equipment, and aggravated identity theft. Telescu was accused of installing a skimming device with co-defendant Andy Perovici on a payment terminal in Tigard, Oregon, on Sept. 23, 2025, to steal EBT card information and PINs. Telescu and his associates were accused of processing about 231 fraudulent SNAP transactions, about $102,000, through a Sam's Club account in California from July 4 to Oct. 13 of that year. Manolea was accused of stealing about $8,739 in SNAP benefits using 10 EBT accounts at an Oregon store with a co-conspirator from Sept. 5 to 9, 2025. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon said on April 29, 2026, that Aramis Manolea and Cristina Manolea, 35, had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government.