Eight people have been indicted in connection with an alleged scheme that stole more than $7 million in food assistance benefits from thousands of New Yorkers enrolled in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced Oct. 29, according to Patch.com.
The alleged operation ran from April 2023 to September 2025. The defendants face charges including conspiracy in the fourth degree, grand larceny and identity theft in New York State Supreme Court. Prosecutors said many recipients were never reimbursed.
According to the indictment, the defendants allegedly used the names of existing and fictitious delis, bodegas and grocery stores to open merchant processing accounts and obtain point-of-sale systems for Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) transactions.
They allegedly stole recipients’ EBT card numbers and personal identification numbers, largely through card-skimming devices, then used the information to create cloned cards.
The group allegedly monitored monthly benefit deposits and used the cloned cards to make repeated transactions soon afterward, draining accounts before some recipients could buy groceries. In several cases, cardholders tried to use their benefits on deposit day and found their balances emptied.
The case highlights how benefit theft can affect households that rely on food assistance, particularly when stolen funds are not reimbursed. It also raises concerns about the security of cards used to access public assistance.
Photographs cited in the investigation showed payment terminals, transaction receipts and dozens of cloned EBT cards in a Yonkers deli's back room and hotel rooms, prosecutors said. They allege that proceeds bought luxury vehicles and that tens of thousands of dollars were sent to Yemen and other international destinations.
New York plans to begin introducing chip-enabled EBT cards in the first quarter of 2027 to make skimming and cloning more difficult. The case remains pending, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
