Thousands of Low-Income Massachusetts SNAP Families Victimized by Theft Seek Justice

BOSTON, MA (November 4, 2022)– The Massachusetts Law Reform Institute filed a class action lawsuit today on behalf of thousands of low-income families whose Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food benefits were stolen from their accounts. The Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA), which administers SNAP in Massachusetts, has refused to restore the stolen benefits on the ground that the federal U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which usually pays for SNAP benefits, will not cover the cost.

Over the past few months, thieves have stolen over a million SNAP dollars from thousands of Massachusetts families – putting their nutrition and economic stability at risk. The criminals attach a “skimming device” on a POS (point of sale) terminal to capture the household’s account information and PIN. The criminals then use that information to make a fake card and steal the SNAP benefits.

Plaintiff C.S. is the mother of two children. She works and goes to community college. She relies on SNAP to help feed her family. In mid-October, thieves stole $717 – every penny that was in her SNAP account. Ms. S. found out about the theft when she tried to pay for a cart of groceries and was told that her SNAP balance was $0. She had to leave the grocery store without buying the food she needed for herself and her children.

DTA records show a thief used Ms. S.’s SNAP at a store in Plano, Texas. Ms. S. has never been to Texas and didn’t use her benefits there. Even though Ms. S. did nothing wrong, DTA won’t restore her benefits.

Congress created the SNAP program so low-income families would not go hungry. The SNAP program serves over a million people in Massachusetts, and 41 million people nationally. Many states have reported a recent dramatic increase in thefts of families’ SNAP after their account information was skimmed. Because of the seriousness of the issue, the Massachusetts Congressional delegation on September 1, 2022 urged USDA to take immediate action to instruct states to restore benefits stolen through skimming and assure states that USDA will cover the cost. So far, USDA has not said it will help states restore the stolen funds.

“Losing my SNAP in October put a big hole in my finances,” said Ms. S. “If this happened with my credit or debit card, I would get the money back. I don’t understand why the SNAP program won’t replace the stolen benefits.”

“Low-income families count on their SNAP benefits to put food on the table each month,” said Betsy Gwin, staff attorney at the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute. “When criminals steal families’ SNAP, our federal and state governments must step up to restore the lost benefits.”

For a copy of the Complaint, click here.

Contacts:

Betsy Gwin
bgwin@mlri.org | 518.339.2183

Vicky Negus
vnegus@mlri.org | 857.241.1715

Deborah Harris
dharris@mlri.org | 617.538.1680

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About Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI)
Founded in 1968, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI) is a nonprofit poverty law and policy program that provides statewide advocacy and leadership in advancing laws, policies, and practices that secure economic, racial, and social justice for low-income people and communities.