A lawsuit on behalf of New York state residents who were electronically robbed of the funds they use for groceries seeks to have the victims reimbursed by the U.S. Agriculture Department, alleging that failure to do so is in violation of federal law.
The federal lawsuit against the USDA was filed Wednesday morning by the Legal Aid Society, a New York-based nonprofit legal services provider, and law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. The class-action suit represents six plaintiffs and intends to represent thousands of other New York state residents who participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, and whose benefits were also skimmed.
The complaint claims the limited scenarios under which the USDA currently authorizes states to use federal money to reinstate SNAP benefits are not compliant with a congressional mandate, which says grocery funds stolen before the recipient receives them must be replaced. Skimming is not one of those scenarios.
It comes as reports of SNAP skimming have grown nationwide. The theft is done by placing hidden devices on card readers’ keypads to electronically steal account information, often without the victim or store owners knowing.
In New York state alone, there have been more than 10,600 incidents of SNAP skimming since January, with victims robbed of more than $4.6 million worth of benefits in total, according to recent data from the state’s Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance.
Yet because the federal government does not currently cover the cost of replacement funds, few states have reimbursed the victims.
The omnibus bill passed in December provided some help. It included a provision for the replacement of stolen SNAP funds with federal dollars that allows up to two months’ worth of skimmed benefits to be reinstated, but it applies only to victims skimmed from October 2022 through September 2024.
“It’s unconscionable that low-income households already struggling to make ends meet are…
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