RICHMOND, Va. — It felt like a gut punch when Ricky Wall went to the store this month, only to learn that he couldn't afford his groceries.
“Everything was bagged, went to pay for stuff, and I was told there was no money on the SNAP benefits," Wall said.
The Hanover County man relies on $150 in monthly food assistance that he receives through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). But in early March, the funds were wiped from his account on the same day they were deposited onto his Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card.
“It’s everything to me. I can't eat without it. I'm disabled. I receive disability monthly, and it doesn't cover everything," Wall said. “In my shoes, it's a devastation. Just like anyone else in my position, it’s a devastation.”
And it wasn't the first time. Wall had already fallen victim to benefit theft in January. At the time, he was told by his case worker that fraudulent transactions from someone else appeared to have depleted his money.
He received a new EBT card and changed his PIN, but that didn't stop it from happening again.
"I'm sure I'm not the only person that's going through this right now," Wall said.
He's right. CBS 6 has interviewed numerous people since the fall who have all experienced the same issues. Richmond City reported a 2,000% increase in claims of stolen benefits in November 2024.
The Virginia Department of Social Services said there's been a "rising number of incidents of skimming, spoofing, scamming and cloning of Electronic Benefit Transfer cards across the nation."
Todd Alert, an advocate who helps members of the homeless community in Richmond, said many within the city's homeless population have been hit hard by the thefts.
“It’s a crisis. It’s terrible," Alert said. “People are not able to eat when they need to eat a meal on the weekends when the churches don't feed, so it's a great impact on the homeless that the food stamps are being stolen every month.”
A new survey of nearly 12,000 SNAP recipients nationwide by the consumer technology provider Propel found a growing percentage of respondents, 62%, were very or extremely concerned about EBT theft.
Eighty-nine percent of respondents reported that they took proactive steps to try and safeguard their benefits, including changing their PINs and locking their cards when not in use.
However, Propel found these methods place the burden on customers and that true, systematic protections appear to be lacking.
“We’re not protected. We're unprotected right now," Wall said.
While Wall said he supports security measures, such as transitioning EBT cards to include chip card technology, he also wants perpetrators to be identified and held responsible.
“They need to be held accountable. They need to be arrested," Wall said.
“This is a crime, and these people need to be dealt with and caught," Alert said.
CBS 6 reached out to more than a dozen government and law enforcement agencies at local, state, and federal levels to ask what's being done to catch the thieves. Agencies contacted by CBS 6 reported different approaches to investigating these crimes, and no agencies identified active prosecutions or recent arrests or charges connected to these kinds of cases.
Federal level:
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) manages the SNAP program nationwide and said it does not track data on arrests, charges, and prosecutions related to SNAP benefit theft.
“[The Food and Nutrition Service] supports federal law enforcement by identifying suspicious EBT transactions and sharing locations where thieves are attempting to use cloned cards. The responsibility to charge and arrest individuals committing SNAP EBT fraud falls within the jurisdiction of local or state law enforcement where the crime is committed," a USDA spokesperson told CBS 6.
A spokesperson for the FBI's Richmond Office said she "can't comment on the existence of any current cases" but that the agency has worked with the USDA and federal inspector general's office in the past.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, which prosecutes federal crimes in our region, said there were "no recent cases involving theft/fraud specifically focused on SNAP benefits."
State level:
The Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS), which is the state agency that oversees the administration of SNAP to Virginia recipients, said it also does not have data on arrests, charges, or prosecutions of SNAP benefit thieves.
A VDSS spokesperson said the USDA would "collaborat[e] with law enforcement to investigate crimes" related to SNAP benefit theft. VDSS added that each local social services department "has its own fraud unit tasked with preventing and investigating fraud, working with Commonwealth’s Attorney to prosecute cases, and recovering fraud, waste, and abuse in public assistance programs."
However, local social services departments told CBS 6 that these fraud investigators focus on recipient fraud, which is when a SNAP customer misuses benefits or violates program rules. They do not investigate SNAP benefit theft, which is different from recipient fraud.
VDSS said an audit is underway to identify suspicious transactions to be reported to investigators. The agency is also hiring a new Program Integrity Director to combat waste, fraud, and abuse across all benefit programs including SNAP. Additionally, this director will "lead the work to identify how benefits are being stolen and provide findings to investigators."
A spokesperson for Office of Attorney General Jason Miyares said "any investigation would start with the local Commonwealth's Attorney."
A spokesperson for Virginia State Police said the agency is not actively investigating SNAP benefit theft and has not "been requested to at this time."
Local level:
Richmond
A spokesperson for Richmond Police said the department "has taken multiple reports of welfare benefits fraud since September, 2024," adding they spiked in November.
He said RPD detectives "take the information from the complainant for the reports and assist the Department of Social Services in these investigations. The Department of Social Services is the lead agency in these cases."
A spokesperson for Richmond Social Services said "cases are investigated by law enforcement. DSS encourages residents who have had their benefits stolen to file a report with the Richmond Police Department." The local social services departments report claims of stolen benefits "to the Virginia Department of Social Services as they continue to work with multiple law enforcement agencies to investigate the theft."
Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney Colette McEachin said no cases have been referred to her office for prosecution. However, she said she was "aware of the problem" after being alerted to it by City Councilmember Stephanie Lynch.
Chesterfield County
A spokesperson for Chesterfield Police said the department has made no arrests for SNAP benefit theft in 2024 or 2025.
"If there is any indication that the fraud occurred locally, we investigate it. If the fraud occurs outside of our jurisdiction, we refer the victim to the local jurisdiction where the fraud occurred. Our detective makes sure the victim has his or her contact information so officers from the other jurisdiction can reach out to him or her for our investigative information once the report is taken on that end. We also direct all of the victims to Virginia Department of Social Services and the USDA’s [Office of Inspector General] so those agencies have the info and are aware, as the incident might be linked to a larger investigation they are doing," a Chesterfield Police spokesperson said.
Chesterfield Commonwealth's Attorney Erin Barr said, "There are not any current cases with charges pending under Virginia Code 63.2-502 or 63.2-522; however, we take these offenses seriously and work with our local DSS Fraud Unit to prosecute them as they arise."
CBS 6 is still waiting to hear back from Chesterfield-Colonial Heights Social Services.
Henrico County
A spokesperson for Henrico Police said many of the complaints received by the department are a procedural step so that the victim can start a claim with social services and that "due to the monetary amounts involved in these thefts, it would not fit the criteria for a Criminal Investigations Section detective to conduct an investigation. However, that’s not to say a patrol officer can’t follow-up on these cases."
Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney Shannon Taylor said no cases have been referred to her office for prosecution.
CBS 6 is still waiting to hear back from Henrico Social Services.
Hanover County
A spokesperson for the Hanover Sheriff's Office said there are no active cases at this time, but if an incident is reported to the sheriff's office, it would be investigated.
Hanover Social Services Director Daricka Jones said the department has not identified anyone responsible for SNAP benefit theft and is not involved in any investigations or prosecutions related to the issue.
Hanover Commonwealth's Attorney Mackenzie Babichenko said her office has been referred prosecutions regarding recipient benefit fraud as of recent but not SNAP benefit theft.
For Wall, a Hanover resident, he'd like to see government entities take stronger action to hold criminals accountable for stealing benefits from vulnerable people.
“What else has got to happen to us to get somebody to do an investigation and get behind this and get it taken care of, because it's not being taken care of, apparently," Wall said.
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
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