COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Hundreds of Ohioans are one step closer to justice; the Ohio Investigative Unit has indicted three people accused of using credit card skimmers to steal more than half a million dollars from some of our most vulnerable neighbors and, ultimately, taxpayers.
NBC4 Investigates has been reporting on stolen SNAP benefits, which used to be known as food stamps. The suspects are accused of stealing more than half a million dollars of Ohio SNAP funds, but that’s just in Ohio.
Investigators tracked these three individuals across the United States, where they are accused of using skimmers to steal funds from SNAP recipients and from every taxpayer.
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NBC4 Investigates asked a social worker who helped raise the alarm about this development after nearly a year of investigation by the Ohio Investigative Unit into the use of card skimmers, which resulted in the theft of at least $600,000 in SNAP benefits across Ohio.
"I love it,” licensed social worker Lakisa Dukes said. “I love it because I felt like so many people had been affected by this and no one was listening.”
Dukes heard from many clients who were targets of SNAP fraud.
"This is literally families who, that is all they have for food," Dukes said.
After faculty overwhelmingly voted to unionize, Ohio University is suing them againNBC4 Investigates found that in Ohio last year, nearly 27,000 people reported their SNAP benefits stolen: almost $14 million of taxpayer money, gone.
The suspects arrested now are allegedly responsible for part of that amount.
"It’s relieving,” Collier said. “I know a lot of people rely on the food stamps.”
"Our suspects in this case victimize some of the poorest people that we have, you know, across the country, because they use SNAP benefits from all over the country," Ohio Investigative Unit Agent in Charge Sam Love said.
Investigators tracked the suspects across the United States and found dozens of fraudulent cards filled with stolen funds.
"They're very transient, they travel all over,” Love said. “They went all over the country.”
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When investigators arrested the suspects, they allegedly found machines used to copy stolen card information and skimmers.
"The ones they are putting on now are pretty small,” Love said. “They can slip right onto the terminal and it takes a good bit of effort for us to pull them off."
The thefts are being reported across the United States.
Most states, including Ohio, use SNAP cards that swipe, making them easy targets. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services says adding a chip feature to the SNAP cards could stop about 85% of the thefts.
Woman charged in the murder of 8-year-old Columbus boy found in attic reaches plea agreement"We know there's more going on,” Love said. “So the work continues, but it's just, you know, on to the next case."
Some states have moved to add chip technology to SNAP cards. Ohio has tried, but the bill in the statehouse has not moved forward.
The last time we told you about this issue was because the federal government had stopped reimbursing people whose benefits were stolen. Investigators share that this was an added push for them to get these indictments against the suspects, and the investigation is ongoing.
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