Golden Fleece Award

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Rep. French Hill (AR-02) announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as the latest recipient of his Golden Fleece Award for failing to stop the rampant theft of SNAP benefits from vulnerable families.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that states replaced more than $320 million in stolen SNAP benefits between October 2022 and December 2024. Criminals used scams like card skimming, card cloning, and phishing to steal SNAP EBT card information and drain SNAP benefits before families could use them to buy groceries. In Arkansas, more than 1,100 families had their SNAP benefits stolen using card skimmers in 2024, totaling more than $550,000. USDA should stop this fraud before criminals can drain benefits from vulnerable Americans.

Rep. Hill said, "SNAP dollars should go to hungry families, not fraudsters. Every dollar stolen is a dollar taken from someone who needs help buying groceries. I appreciate the Trump Administration's work to go after criminals stealing SNAP benefits, and I urge the USDA to bring that same urgency to stopping electronic theft before it happens, not just chasing it after the fact. Families who rely on SNAP need to know the money will be there, and taxpayers in Arkansas and across America deserve to know their hard-earned tax dollars are being protected."

In his letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Rep. Hill writes:

Dear Secretary Rollins, 

I write today to inform you that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food and Nutrition Administration is this month’s recipient of my Golden Fleece Award. I am awarding this to USDA because of its failure to properly protect Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits from electronic theft and fraud. 

SNAP is intended to help low-income families, seniors, individuals with disabilities, and children put food on the table. That mission matters. In Fiscal Year 2025, SNAP was expected to provide approximately $96 billion in benefits to about 43 million people nationwide. In Arkansas alone, about 240,400 people received SNAP benefits each month in Fiscal Year 2025, representing 7.7 percent of the state’s population.

This is how serious the problem is: the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that states replaced more than $320 million in stolen SNAP benefits between October 2022 and December 2024. Criminals used scams like card skimming, card cloning, and phishing to steal SNAP EBT card information and drain SNAP benefits before families could use them to buy groceries.

Arkansas families have been hit by SNAP fraud. According to the Arkansas Department of Human Services, more than 1,100 Arkansas families had their SNAP benefits stolen using card skimmers in 2024, totaling more than $550,000. Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin has warned that scammers are accessing EBT card funds without the recipient’s knowledge and then immediately spending that money outside Arkansas, leaving vulnerable Arkansans without the funds they need to purchase groceries. In addition, USDA has acknowledged that criminals are using electronic schemes such as skimming, cloning, phishing, and other methods to steal SNAP benefits before recipients can use them. This is especially concerning because these stolen benefits are intended for low-income families, seniors, individuals with disabilities, and children, not criminals exploiting weaknesses in outdated EBT security systems. 

Every dollar stolen from SNAP is a dollar taken from a person who needs help buying groceries. It is also a dollar taken from taxpayers who expect the SNAP program to serve the vulnerable. Protecting SNAP from fraud is how we preserve SNAP for Americans who truly need it. That is exactly why fraud in this program is so unacceptable. 

I appreciate that the Trump Administration has made SNAP program integrity a priority and that USDA has already taken steps to target criminals stealing SNAP benefits. USDA has stated that fraud will not be tolerated by the Trump Administration, and USDA’s Special Investigations Unit has worked with federal law enforcement partners to target criminals engaged in stealing SNAP benefits. USDA has also stated that the SNAP Fraud Framework supports state efforts to improve and expand fraud prevention, detection, and investigation. That work is welcome. Now USDA should bring that same urgency to stopping electronic SNAP theft before criminals can drain benefits from vulnerable Americans. 

Taxpayers deserve to know that USDA is safeguarding their dollars. Families who depend on SNAP deserve to know their benefits will not be stolen before they can buy groceries. I urge USDA to provide Congress with clear, state-by-state data on SNAP theft, including the number of households affected, the dollar amount stolen, and the steps being taken to protect recipients going forward. Should you require additional authority from Congress to accomplish this task and protect SNAP beneficiaries from electronic theft, I ask that you notify me. I look forward to working with you on this important matter. 

Sincerely,  

French Hill
Member of Congress 

CC: Acting Administrator of the USDA Food and Nutrition Administration, Shiela Corley