A Dominican Republic national living illegally in the U.S. has admitted to stealing $213,000 in food stamp benefits in Rhode Island, according to a federal press release.
Giomar Lopez Meireles, 41, admitted to defrauding the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). He was also found illegally in possession of a firearm when he was arrested, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Rhode Island.
After pleading guilty, Lopez Meireles is set to be sentenced on September 4.
Investigators said that Lopez Meireles was involved in a scheme to file for SNAP assistance using stolen identities and fraudulent social security numbers. After filing for assistance using the false identities, Lopez Meireles was sent electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards loaded with money, which he then sold to others for cash.
Lopez Meireles reportedly filed false applications for SNAP assistance from September 2021 to November 2023 to the Rhode Island Department of Human Services, which administers the SNAP program in the state.
After a raid was conducted on his apartment, dozens of EBT cards wrapped in paper containing account and PIN numbers were discovered. Officials also discovered a 9 mm pistol in the apartment. It is against the law for an illegal alien to be in possession of a firearm in the United States.
The investigation was carried out by the U.S. Department of Agriculture – Office of Inspector General and the Rhode Island Office of Internal Audit – Fraud Detection & Prevention Unit. Several other agencies contributed to the investigation; those are the U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Department of Homeland Security – Office of Inspector General, Social Security Administration – Office of Inspector General, as well as several Rhode Island police departments.
The SNAP program received its biggest hike in history under President Joe Biden thanks to the negative effects of inflation causing food prices to soar.
The maximum benefit a family of four can receive increased from $835 to $939 per month late in 2022. It is the largest annual percentage increase since the USDA’s implementation of the Thrifty Food Plan in 1975.
However, in 2023, Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst introduced a bill (SB 2923) to reduce spending by nearly $1 billion a month by lowering taxpayer expenses for payment errors under SNAP. She noted there were about $11.2 billion in overpayments in 2022 alone.
“Families across the country are going hungry while bureaucrats are jumping the line to gobble up SNAP dollars, either as a meal ticket to beef up state budgets or a self-serve buffet of benefits for themselves or others who do not qualify,” Ernst said. “I’m snapping back! It’s time for states at fault to pay the piper and eat the costs of their taxpayer waste. Instead of overserving bureaucrats, let’s end the waste and set a place at the table for hungry families.”
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