OIG resolves SNAP cases
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) helps families during challenging times. Benefit amounts are based on an applicant’s household size, income, assets and other factors. Providing incomplete or inaccurate information can cause an application being delayed or denied. Knowingly providing wrong information on a benefits application is considered fraud and can result in program disqualification, fines and criminal charges.
The OIG's Benefits Program Integrity (BPI) unit investigates allegations of overpayments to SNAP clients. SNAP investigations resolved recently include:
- BPI investigated a client in Val Verde County who submitted falsified SNAP applications from February 2014 to February 2019. The client claimed only she and her children lived in the household. The BPI investigator verified through a variety of sources that the client’s husband lived in the household and had income. The client confessed in April to fraud and agreed to pay $45,668 with a 12-month disqualification from SNAP.
- In May, BPI resolved a case in Cherokee County where a client failed to report on her SNAP applications income from her children’s father. A BPI investigator gathered evidence from a variety of sources to prove the client’s husband lived in the household and had income. The case was processed through an administrative disqualification hearing. The client agreed to pay $11,905 and received a 12-month disqualification from SNAP.
- Based on an interstate data match, BPI investigated a client in Bexar County who received SNAP benefits in both Texas and Louisiana for several months in 2019. This case was deemed a client error, as the client was approved for SNAP benefits in Texas without disclosing they were receiving benefits from Louisiana, where the client resided at the time. Since the client should not have received SNAP benefits in Texas while residing in Louisiana, the client signed a repayment agreement in March for $5,299. The amount will be recouped from the current SNAP benefit allotment they now receive as a Texas resident once again.
Practical reminders for completing benefits applications are available in this benefit guide produced by the OIG.
https://oig.hhsc.texas.gov/sites/default/files/documents/resources/clients/Benefits-Application-Guide-05-20.pdf