State records reveal little SNAP enforcement despite exploding fraud

Michigan authorities have considered filing criminal charges against 432 people for alleged food stamp fraud since 2020, according to documents obtained through a records request to the attorney general’s office. An expert on financial security says the number suggests lax enforcement.

Over 1.4 million Michiganders with low incomes purchase food through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps. Money from the program is loaded onto state-issued Bridge cards, which recipients can use at approved vendors, such as grocery stores.

Food stamp fraud in Michigan jumped nearly 400% between 2023 and 2024, according to documents Michigan Capitol Confidential obtained under the state's Freedom of Information Act. But the number of cases opened remained the same: 110 or 111. The state has opened a small number of cases for suspected food stamp fraud in recent years:

• 2020: 62
• 2021: 55
• 2022: 94
• 2023: 111
• 2024: 110

The state health agency has referred 91 cases for prosecution to the attorney general’s office since 2020, according to a separate document obtained through a records request. It’s unclear if these 91 cases are counted in the other 432 or not. 

• 2020: 5
• 2021: 5
• 2022: 20
• 2023: 34
• 2024: 27

The state investigates alleged fraud once it is reported, often by a state health department employee or someone close to the person accused. CapCon has filed a request seeking the number of convictions for SNAP fraud in Michigan since 2020.

Michigan mailed out roughly 738 replacement Bridge cards daily in 2024, for a total of 269,644 cards sent out to replace lost or stolen cards, according to a document obtained through a records request.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services hasn’t responded to multiple requests for comment.

The fraud rate in Michigan’s SNAP program is about 11%, Haywood Talcove of LexisNexis Risk Solutions, a company banks and unemployment agencies use to help prevent fraud, told CapCon in an email.

“Yet only 432 individuals have been referred for criminal prosecution. To believe that out of approximately $65 billion in spending, there were just 412 instances of fraud is not only implausible — it reflects a dereliction of duty when it comes to safeguarding program integrity,” Talcove wrote. “We need to stop relying on self-reported data, implement robust front-end identity verification, and truly know the applicant. These aren't isolated cases of error — these are organized criminal enterprises exploiting multiple programs, including Medicaid, unemployment insurance, TANF, and more. The real victims are taxpayers and those in genuine need who are being shortchanged by a system that allows fraud to flourish.”