New legislation is now reportedly being pushed by a Democratic politician in California would decriminalize the majority of welfare fraud.
SB 560, a bill recently presented by state senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas, would do away with criminal sanctions for welfare fraud cases involving less than $25,000.
According to data from the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), welfare fraud is frequently reported in California but is rarely prosecuted.
Investigators found fraud in over 5,000 cases in Los Angeles County alone, but only roughly 200 of those cases were sent to the local district attorney’s office for prosecution.
The gap left by state prosecutors has been attempted to be filled by federal law enforcement. Five foreign nationals were apprehended by several federal agencies earlier this year in Los Angeles for stealing from low-income households using fake EBT cards.
According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), between 2022 and 2024, $181 million was stolen from California EBT recipients.
This year, California’s food stamp program will distribute benefits totaling almost $13 billion. Despite receiving federal funding through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), food stamps are managed by the states, which means that any fraud or poor administration falls on taxpayers across the country.
Over 11% of California’s food stamp monies were misused for overpayments in 2023, resulting in an estimated $1.3 billion in lost taxpayer revenue.
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