Federal authorities announced a significant crackdown on fraudulent activity targeting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), revealing the scale of the scheme and ongoing enforcement efforts. Officials said that $42 million in benefits were fraudulently obtained, potentially depriving approximately 220,000 Americans of food assistance in October alone.
The Justice and Agriculture Departments, joined by Vice President JD Vance, held a press conference Wednesday in Cincinnati to discuss recent indictments related to the fraud. Attorney General Todd Blanche highlighted that men and women across 13 different federal districts have been charged in the past seven weeks as part of a coordinated effort to combat these criminal enterprises.
“This initiative will continue for as long as it takes,” Blanche said, emphasizing the government’s commitment to protecting SNAP’s intended purpose of helping food-insecure children and families. Department of Agriculture Inspector General John Walk noted the long-standing nature of such fraud with a remark that “there’s nothing ‘New’ under the sun.”
Among those arrested was Terrell New, known as “Shawty Dred,” who reportedly exploited the SNAP system by manipulating benefit payments spread over 350 accounts and funneling them to his own use. Vice President Vance criticized New’s actions, noting that the individual made nearly 9,000 calls to execute the scheme and used the illicit proceeds to acquire expensive jewelry and luxury vehicles.
New, a social media personality with over two million Instagram followers, was previously arrested in 2022 for public indecency and had pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges in 2024. His arrest took place last Tuesday in Las Vegas.
Separately, two other defendants, Jorag Yaseen and Rami Kanaan, were indicted in federal court in Ohio for allegedly orchestrating a nearly $30 million fraud involving electronic benefit transfer (EBT) transactions at food retail stores based in Chicago. Authorities detailed other cases involving the sale of EBT cards, submission of fraudulent crop insurance claims totaling up to $1.7 million, and schemes that used more than $2.4 million in SNAP benefits to illegally purchase baby formula. The formula was reportedly sold on the black market, with over 124,000 pounds implicated.
Investigators remain engaged in identifying additional suspects and disrupting these ongoing fraudulent operations targeting vital food assistance programs intended to serve vulnerable populations.