$15.5 million in benefit overpayments recovered in fiscal year to date

The OIG’s Benefits Program Integrity unit has completed 6,849 investigations involving some form of benefit recipient overpayment or fraud allegations through April of fiscal year 2023. These efforts led to $15,582,463 in recoveries, with 20 cases referred for prosecution and 372 for administrative disqualification.

Most completed investigations involved applicants misrepresenting the number of income-earning household members. Programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid use household composition and income to determine a client’s eligibility for assistance and the proper benefit amount.

Below is a selection of SNAP fraud cases involving program clients.

Jefferson County client guilty of SNAP fraud

Following an OIG investigation, a woman in Beaumont pleaded guilty to fraud in the 252nd District Court, Jefferson County, Texas. The client applied to receive SNAP benefits seven times, beginning in December 2018. On each application, she falsely claimed the household either had no income or the only income was from her self-employment. However, OIG investigators determined the client had legal access to a joint bank account with her children’s father. A review of the account showed monthly deposits not included on the benefits application. Based on the unreported unearned income, the household received $17,953 in excessive SNAP benefits from February 2019 through June 2022. In January 2023, the client pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years deferred probation, agreed to a 12-month SNAP disqualification and was ordered to pay $17,481 in restitution to Texas Health and Human Services. 

Edinburg client pays full restitution

A woman in Edinburg paid full restitution as the result of a pre-trial diversion by Hidalgo County prosecutors. The repayment follows an investigation by the OIG. The client applied for SNAP benefits on October 6, 2015, claiming under penalty of perjury that the household’s income was from Social Security benefits. However, OIG investigators found a joint bank account with consistent deposits not reported during the application process. The benefits would have been reduced if the client had truthfully disclosed the household’s income. Instead, the client continued to falsely report the household’s income from October 2015 through December 2019. As a result, she obtained $26,436 in Medicaid and CHIP benefits she was not entitled to receive. In December 2022, the client paid full restitution, and state prosecutors filed a motion to dismiss. Subsequently, a Hidalgo County district judge formally dismissed the case.