StormX
Banned
The Jindal administration announced late Wednesday that it is moving to strip food stamps from recipients who took advantage of a technical glitch last month to stock up on free groceries.
The announcement came after U.S. Sen. David Vitter, R-La., pressured state officials to take action by taking away food stamp benefits and forming a task force with local prosecutors to bring criminal charges. Retailers lost money when they allowed food stamp recipients to leave their stores with groceries even though they could not check spending limits. When the transactions were processed later, thousands bounced back because recipients exceeded their food stamp balances.
Smartphone images of empty store shelves and bulging grocery carts at Wal-Marts in Springhill and Mansfield made national news.
The state Department of Children and Family Services said Wednesday that retailers across the state got 12,000 nonsufficient funds messages when the food stamp system came back online. The agency’s spokeswoman, Lindsey deBlieux, said investigations are ongoing to determine how many people took advantage. Retailers could have tried to process transactions multiple times. Recipients also could have made multiple purchases.
“We are in the business of helping vulnerable families, and we must protect the program for those who receive and use their benefits appropriately according to the law. We are looking at each case individually, addressing those recipients who are suspected of misrepresenting their eligibility for benefits or defrauding the system, and the Department will take initial action against the most egregious cases first,” the agency’s secretary, Suzy Sonnier, said in a prepared statement.
First time offenders stand to lose their food stamps for a year. Second time offenders face a 2-year suspension. Third time offenders will permanently lose their benefits.
http://theadvocate.com/home/7514395-125/jindal-moves-to-strip-food
The announcement came after U.S. Sen. David Vitter, R-La., pressured state officials to take action by taking away food stamp benefits and forming a task force with local prosecutors to bring criminal charges. Retailers lost money when they allowed food stamp recipients to leave their stores with groceries even though they could not check spending limits. When the transactions were processed later, thousands bounced back because recipients exceeded their food stamp balances.
Smartphone images of empty store shelves and bulging grocery carts at Wal-Marts in Springhill and Mansfield made national news.
The state Department of Children and Family Services said Wednesday that retailers across the state got 12,000 nonsufficient funds messages when the food stamp system came back online. The agency’s spokeswoman, Lindsey deBlieux, said investigations are ongoing to determine how many people took advantage. Retailers could have tried to process transactions multiple times. Recipients also could have made multiple purchases.
“We are in the business of helping vulnerable families, and we must protect the program for those who receive and use their benefits appropriately according to the law. We are looking at each case individually, addressing those recipients who are suspected of misrepresenting their eligibility for benefits or defrauding the system, and the Department will take initial action against the most egregious cases first,” the agency’s secretary, Suzy Sonnier, said in a prepared statement.
First time offenders stand to lose their food stamps for a year. Second time offenders face a 2-year suspension. Third time offenders will permanently lose their benefits.
http://theadvocate.com/home/7514395-125/jindal-moves-to-strip-food