RICHMOND, Va. — As surging reports of theft of food benefits impact hundreds of families across the Richmond area, multiple victims say they're waiting too long to get their assistance back.
Last week, CBS 6 reported that Richmond saw a 2,000% increase in stolen SNAP benefits. Low-income families rely on the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to feed their families.
“I have to take care of my kids, pay bills, and still manage to buy food. Sometimes I go without eating because my kids have to eat, and that's not fair to nobody," Richmond mother Musheerah Townes said after reporting her benefits were stolen multiple times over the past few months.
After that story aired, several people reached out to CBS 6 with concerns that their social services department was not replacing their benefits quickly enough.
'Pain and suffering'
They reported between $600 to $1,000 in food assistance was taken almost immediately after the funds were deposited into their accounts.
The fraudulent transactions appeared to be made out of state.
“It’s hard, it's frustrating, it's upsetting, it's highly inconvenient whatsoever. I feel like this is pain and suffering," said Teaisha Smith, a Richmond mother of two who was also impacted by the issue. “What are we going to eat until we do receive the benefits back? Are we going to receive them for Thanksgiving?”
For Richmond mother Mekel Johnson, with three children in her household, she said she went to the grocery store on the day her benefits usually hit. But she found out at checkout that $867 in benefits had been completely depleted.
“I was hungry. I would let the kids eat before I eat, but we were all suffering because we were getting weak from not having food. We didn't even have bottled water," Johnson said. "We were just using whatever we had leftover in the refrigerator. We were just really, just sparsely eating."
All the mothers who shared their stories with CBS 6 said they were getting help from local food banks as they waited for replacement benefits; however, they said those resources are being overwhelmed.
"Imagine when we get to the food bank, the food bank is wrapped around the corner. And then when you get there, everybody already done been through the food, so you're getting a little bag of food," said Richmond mother Scotaeja Brown, who said she has four children to feed.
Replacing stolen benefits
A law passed by Congress in 2022 allows for stolen benefits to be replaced with federal funds. It was originally set to expire in September of this year but was continued through December 20.
Under that program, states are required to submit benefit replacement plans to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which manages SNAP.
The Virginia Department of Social Services' plan states it has 10 business days to reissue benefits if a theft claim is verified.
However, those who spoke with CBS 6 claimed their benefits were not replaced within that timeframe.
“It’s just a long time. It's 20 days now, and I have never seen my benefits, and I do have two boys to feed," Smith said. "It's just a waiting game."
"I had to wait a whole month. So, when it got taken last month on the 7th, I had to wait to the 7th of this month to get my stamps," Townes said.
Richmond's turnaround time
The spokesperson for Richmond Social Services Tamara Jenkins said the department received 534 claims of EBT scams during the first half of November.
Jenkins said RDSS assessed 303 claims within the required 10-day period, verifying all but 12. She said an additional 231 claims are still pending.
About 10% of the claims received contained incomplete information.
"Incomplete forms, verification of a claim when it does not align with information in the system, latency issues with the system, and a significant increase in theft reports contribute to the time taken to assess validity," Jenkins said.
She said one fraud manager would typically handle about 20 cases per week, but with the recent surge, the department reassigned five employees and a supervisor to focus on processing claims.
"Although surprised by the 2000% surge in theft reports, the team quickly adapted to the increased workload and reprioritized their assignments to address the surge in reports, as they recognized the impact of those victimized by these scams," Jenkins said.
Impacts statewide
The issue is not unique to Richmond. Henrico and Chesterfield have seen significant increases this month too, according to data provided by the localities.
Chesterfield-Colonial Heights Social Services received 234 theft reports so far this November. In September, it received 15.
Henrico Social Services said it received 289 theft reports and counting so far this November. In September, it received 64.
Director of Henrico Social Services Gretchen Brown said the locality is responsible for replacing benefits, and the Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) tracks data and assists with prevention measures.
CBS 6 reached out to VDSS on November 13 with questions about statewide data and its response to the increase in stolen benefits, but we have not yet received answers.
However, according to information shared by Hanover Social Services Director Daricka Jones, VDSS has processed 9,696 benefit replacements since July 2023, totaling $4.6 million.
According to a USDA dashboard, there have been more than 117,000 approved claims of benefits replacements across the country totaling more than $53 million.
“Something is terribly wrong going on within the system," Mekel Johnson said.
As these local moms battle a difficult financial situation right before the holidays, they're calling on government entities to implement security and prevention measures to stop the theft from happening again.
“Something needs to be done because it’s not fair to the community," Townes said.
"Whether it's a chip, a fingerprint, Face ID, it definitely needs to be more security measurements in place with the SNAP benefits. Because if they could do that from another city, just imagine what else they can do," Smith said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture and Governor Glenn Youngkin's office detailed their efforts to protect beneficiaries and investigate those responsible for stealing benefits.
CBS 6 will report on that part of the story next week as we continue to look into this issue.
Watch Tyler Layne's reporting on CBS 6 and WTVR.com. Have something for Tyler to investigate? Email him.
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
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