(Image Credit: IMAGN) 2/23/08 1:22:06 PM -- Tomah, WI --Credit Cards -- Christie Carlson, 34, goes shopping at the Wal-Mart with her two of her children, Tanner, 5 (in cart) and Seth, 7, and boyfriend Mike Serns. Carlson, 34, who says that as living costs -- including gas, groceries -- rise, she's been forced to use her credit cards to make ends meet. As the economy gets worse, she worries that she'll have to rely even more so on plastic. Credit cards are keeping Americans afloat like never before. As the economy worsens, dragging down retirement portfolios and salaries, consumers appear to be turning more than ever before to credit cards to pay for basic necessities. One telltale sign of this trend: While credit card debt is ballooning, consumers are pulling back on discretionary items like furniture and electronics and spending more on groceries and gas, according to government data. A growing number of people are even cashing out on their credit cards and using this money to pay overdue mortgage bills, say credit counselors. It?s not just blue-collar workers, but doctors and professionals who are being hit by the economic squeeze and turning to plastic to make ends meet. A growing body of research shows that consumers are even paying their credit card bills before their mortgage bills and car bills, in a reversal from the historic trend. Photo by Andy Manis, Freelance ORG XMIT: AM 33572 Credit 2/23/2008 Xxx Credit Cards Cover005 Jpg Wi
Sacramento, California – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced this week that it has conducted a series of operations targeting widespread fraud involving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
In a news release issued on May 2, the USDA said the operations, carried out in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security and local law enforcement, focused on criminal networks stealing taxpayer-funded SNAP benefits. Officials surveilled more than 100 locations across Southern California, including several SNAP-authorized retailers. The operations led to multiple arrests and the collection of what the USDA described as “high value evidence.”
“Fraud will not be tolerated by the Trump Administration,” said Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins. “At USDA we are fighting back against fraud and misuse of taxpayer dollars and ensuring those who need and qualify for benefits actually receive them.”
SNAP, the federal food assistance program for low- and no-income individuals and families, currently supports approximately 41 million Americans. Benefits are distributed through electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards, which can be vulnerable to scams such as skimming, cloning, and phishing.
Benefit theft has become a growing problem. According to the USDA’s stolen benefits tracker, nearly 147,000 claims for stolen benefits were approved in the final quarter of 2024 alone, totaling $69 million. Since the second quarter of 2023, the government has reimbursed over $220 million to victims.
However, federal reimbursements for stolen benefits ended in December 2024, after Congress failed to include continued funding in a temporary spending bill. While states can choose to reimburse theft victims using their own funds, the USDA no longer covers such losses for benefits stolen after December 21, 2024.
Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services John Walk called the perpetrators “sick and depraved individuals,” emphasizing that some of the fraud is tied to international criminal organizations.
In response to the halt in federal reimbursements, Representative Al Green (D-TX) introduced the SNAP SECURE Act of 2025 in the House of Representatives on April 24. The proposed legislation would reinstate federal funding for victims of SNAP benefit theft, but its fate in Congress remains uncertain.
The USDA says it will continue its enforcement efforts to protect the integrity of the SNAP program and ensure aid reaches those who need it most.
