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Reporting benefit card fraud

Published (2/17/2012)
By Mike Cook
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Electronic benefit transfer cards are designed to help people in financial distress meet their everyday needs, but there is concern abuse could be happening.

Sponsored by Rep. Sarah Anderson (R-Plymouth), HF1956 would require a peace officer to report to their department every time they arrest someone who possesses multiple EBT cards. The Department of Human Services must then be notified and can use the information when assessing the person’s continued benefit eligibility.

“It’s about making sure that we maintain the program integrity,” Anderson said. “This is just an attempt to make sure that we are not operating in silos, but instead communicating with one another so we make sure that fraud is not being committed and that the precious resources that we have can be dedicated to those individuals that need the help.”

The bill was approved by the House Public Safety and Crime Prevention Policy and Finance Committee on a split-voice vote and sent to the House Health and Human Services Reform Committee.

We don’t really know how much this occurs, but we want to work more collaboratively with local law enforcement and attorneys’ offices, said Jerry Kerber, head of the department’s Office of Inspector General.

Rep. Kurt Daudt (R-Crown) said a jailer told him this is a problem. “He indicated that almost everybody that comes into the jail has multiple EBT cards. He’s been experiencing a problem where he reports it to his superiors and nothing ever happens.”

Rep. Rena Moran (DFL-St. Paul) expressed concern about how this could affect a recipient who, for example, gives their card to someone else who happens to be going to the supermarket and asks them to pick up a few things. “There could be many reasons why a person could possess more than one card,” she said.

A companion, SF1598, sponsored by Sen. Scott Newman (R-Hutchinson), awaits action by the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee.

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