The federal food-stamp program is no longer just a target for petty cheats lying on an application. It is now a hunting ground for organized, tech-savvy criminals, and some of the stolen money is reaching very dangerous people. That was the warning USDA Inspector General John Walk delivered to the House Oversight Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency on June 25. The hearing was titled “Combating Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in SNAP,” and the numbers Walk brought with him are hard to ignore. SNAP is the largest domestic food assistance program in the country. It served 41.7 million people in an average month during fiscal year 2024 at a federal cost north of $100 billion, with more than 250,000 authorized retailers able to accept the benefits. WATCH: Chairman @RepTimBurchett opens today's DOGE hearing on SNAP fraud. "$10 billion in SNAP benefits were improperly paid out by the States … Federal taxpayers deserve to know what Governor Newsom and his counterparts in other states are trying to hide—and at what cost." pic.twitter.com/zb6BaYqfwu — Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) June 25, 2026 Walk’s testimony, available through the House Oversight Committee, lays out how the threat has changed. The official hearing page shows the June 25 proceeding was held in Rayburn 2154 and lists Walk as the USDA Inspector General witness, alongside witnesses from the United Council on Welfare Fraud, Advancing American Freedom, and the Food Research and Action Center. He told lawmakers that perpetrators now include highly organized, sophisticated criminals stealing enormous sums through EBT card skimming, trafficking operations, identity fraud, terminal cloning, and corrupt retailers. The detail that should stop anyone reading is where some of the money ends up. Walk testified that proceeds of SNAP fraud have gone to individuals linked to terrorist groups, foreign adversary nations, and transnational criminal organizations. The mechanics are fast and cold. In his written testimony, Walk walked lawmakers through the major fraud lanes now hitting the program: EBT card skimming, SNAP trafficking, terminal cloning, identity fraud, and corrupt retail operations. He said a criminal can plant a skimmer on a payment terminal in as little as seven seconds, capture a beneficiary’s card data, clone the EBT card, and drain the account when monthly benefits load. That leaves the legitimate family standing at the grocery store with nothing left on the card, sometimes before they even know the card was compromised. He pointed to specific cases. Five Romanian nationals were indicted in a scheme to steal nearly $1 million in SNAP benefits from low-income families through skimming. A separate Louisiana investigation produced indictments against two more Romanian nationals for access device fraud, and Walk said both were confirmed members of transnational organized crime groups. Some of those groups, he testified, use the illicit proceeds to fund other crimes, potentially including terrorism. Then there was Operation “Mic Drop” in southern California, where more than $2 million was stolen from taxpayers. SNAP EBT benefits were swapped for cash, and the proceeds were spent on crack cocaine and guns. One terminal-cloning scheme alone caused a $66 million loss and involved a USDA employee who sold sensitive FNA numbers to co-conspirators. That employee was sentenced to two years in federal prison. USDA IG John Walk testified before House Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency “SNAP fraud is a reprehensible crime that squanders the compassion of American taxpayers who fund the program and robs from those low-income American who qualify for benefits to feed… pic.twitter.com/yedgYQIcdH — USDA OIG (@OIGUSDA) June 25, 2026 Walk did not arrive empty-handed on enforcement. He said USDA OIG investigations since February 2025 have produced nearly 1,000 arrests, 133 convictions, and more than $135 million in restitution, fines, and assessments tied to SNAP violations. But he was blunt about the limits of cleanup after the fact. The OIG cannot “pay and chase” its way out of this, he said, calling instead for stronger front-end controls, modern identity verification, better data sharing, and modern EBT security. Subcommittee Chairman Tim Burchett opened the hearing with his own figure, saying USDA officials identified roughly $3 billion in potential fraud and waste pulled from participating-state data. Fox News reported that the participating-state data showed benefits allegedly going to deceased individuals, applicants using fraudulent Social Security numbers, and duplicate recipients. The report also noted Burchett’s claim that USDA officials identified roughly $3 billion in potential fraud and waste from states that did cooperate with the data request, while more than 20 states declined to provide the requested SNAP data. Burchett tied the question directly to the states that run the program day to day, naming Governor Gavin Newsom of California and his counterparts and asking what they are trying to hide and at what cost. The enforcement side is moving fast right now, too. A three-day skimming outreach operation led by the Secret Service New York Field Office wrapped on June 26. The Secret Service reported that agents and partner agencies removed 35 illegal skimming devices during the operation. The scale is what makes the release worth paying attention to: 1,010 businesses visited, 3,935 inspections conducted, and an estimated $36.5 million saved before additional victims could be drained. That matters because Walk’s testimony described skimming as one of the fastest-growing ways criminals hit benefit cards. The pattern is not abstract: criminals plant devices on real payment terminals, collect card data, clone the card, and move when benefits load. The New York operation shows why the front-end controls Walk is asking for matter. Once the money is gone, the government is left chasing criminals while families are left trying to buy groceries with an empty card. Proud to be part of the United States Secret Service led effort in New York City this week • $36.5 Million tax dollars saved• 35 illegal skimming devices removed• 1,010 businesses visited• 3,935 inspections• Ongoing fraud against New Yorkers disrupted• Payday… pic.twitter.com/d4Gx7a6zhW — USDA OIG (@OIGUSDA) June 26, 2026 The picture from this hearing is consistent. Food-stamp dollars meant for hungry families are being skimmed, cloned, and laundered, and some of that money is reaching people who want to do this country harm. The watchdog says arrests alone will not fix it. The fix has to start at the front end, before the cards are loaded and the thieves are already seven seconds ahead. This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here. What are your thoughts? TAP HERE TO ADD YOUR VOTE The post USDA Watchdog Tells Congress SNAP Fraud Cash Is Reaching Terror-Linked Actors appeared first on 100PercentFedUp.com.