We have another example of how your tax dollars are being wasted after a man in Lancaster City was recently arrested for Food Stamp Trafficking.
This is an outrageous waste of taxpayer dollars. People are applying for food stamps and when they get them, they sell them.
Early last week, during a warrant sweep, Lancaster City police arrested Kidanu Adulla, 42, for Food Stamp Trafficking – a misdemeanor. Donna Morgan with the Department of Welfare says last month nearly two million Pennsylvanians were eligible for food stamps. And while she didn’t have direct numbers of fraud, it is something the state is aware of.
Morgan says people get the food stamps and sell them for 50 cents on the dollar. They even put them on Craigslist because anyone can use them since you don’t need ID. When people are caught, it’s mostly due to merchants or friends that turn them in.
“Of course, we are always looking out for this. But we have to remember that so many people do benefit from this. We just have to weed out the bad guys from the good ones," Morgan said.
The food stamps come on access card, like a credit card. Many say this fraud could be stopped by putting the picture of the recipient on the card – like a photo ID. But due to confidentiality reasons, the state can’t do that.
This is an outrageous waste of taxpayer dollars. People are applying for food stamps and when they get them, they sell them.
Early last week, during a warrant sweep, Lancaster City police arrested Kidanu Adulla, 42, for Food Stamp Trafficking – a misdemeanor. Donna Morgan with the Department of Welfare says last month nearly two million Pennsylvanians were eligible for food stamps. And while she didn’t have direct numbers of fraud, it is something the state is aware of.
Morgan says people get the food stamps and sell them for 50 cents on the dollar. They even put them on Craigslist because anyone can use them since you don’t need ID. When people are caught, it’s mostly due to merchants or friends that turn them in.
“Of course, we are always looking out for this. But we have to remember that so many people do benefit from this. We just have to weed out the bad guys from the good ones," Morgan said.
The food stamps come on access card, like a credit card. Many say this fraud could be stopped by putting the picture of the recipient on the card – like a photo ID. But due to confidentiality reasons, the state can’t do that.