Marylanders can now apply for reimbursement if their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP, benefits were stolen.
Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, announced earlier Monday that relief is now available for victims of electronic benefits transfer fraud. Maryland’s plan is the first in the country to be approved by the Department of Agriculture's Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services to use federal SNAP funds for fraud reimbursement as part of an omnibus bill passed in December 2022.
There are at least 1,300 Marylanders who have had a total of $761,584 reimbursed back to them over the last week, according to the Maryland Department of Health and Human Services, the state agency that oversees SNAP.
It’s already been making a difference, says department Secretary Rafael Lopez. “This is happening when people are already at one of the hardest times of their life,” he said, sharing that already they’ve received reports of people now able to catch up on prescriptions, car expenses, and other essentials they’d had to put off. He added that for the first time, the department is also doing a fully bilingual campaign in English and Spanish.
The state received 2,300 claims exceeding $1.6 million in alleged stolen benefits from the time between October 1, 2022 and February 28. 2023. The latestnumbers from the U.S. The Department of Food and Agriculture reports that over 600,000 people in the state use SNAP.
Changes are also on the way to make the EBT cards more secure. Those enhancements will include some type of mobile or online card unlock/lock system and a text alert system that goes out every time a card is used. Oftentimes, benefits were stolen via “skimming” — a process where some type of device is used to record card numbers and pins from an individual's EBT card.
State residents whose benefits were stolen between Oct. 1, 2022 and Feb. 28, 2023 are required to apply for reimbursement by Mar 31st.
For thefts committed after March 1, the claim must be made within 45 days of discovery.
Claims can be made at www.mymdthink.maryland.gov or in person at your local DHS office.
