• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

Should I turn in my brother for food stamp fraud?

What should I do?

  • Turn in my brother and his sons.

    Votes: 2 4.8%
  • Turn in my brother, his sons, and store

    Votes: 4 9.5%
  • Turn in the store

    Votes: 20 47.6%
  • Do nothing at all.

    Votes: 16 38.1%

  • Total voters
    42

SgtRock

Cancel Cancel Culture and Woke Supremacy
DP Veteran
Joined
Feb 6, 2007
Messages
7,025
Reaction score
2,896
Location
Deep in the Heart of Texas
Gender
Male
Political Leaning
Conservative
Here is the situation. My brother and his sons live in another state. My sister passed away this month from lung cancer. I traveled there for the funeral and to visit. When I got there i found my brother and two of his sons had not eaten for two days. So i went out and picked up some burgers. After they had eaten I took my brother and his sons in my rental car, none of them have a car, to buy groceries which I gladly paid for. On the way back they asked me to stop at a store so i did. They came out with beer and cigaretts. Well needless to say i was pissed. I asked, how can you afford beer and cigaretts but can't afford food. My brother responded "the store accepted his food stamp card for beer and smokes, isn't that cool" I said hell no its not cool. My brother and his adult sons are on food stamps. So what am I to do. Turn in my brother and his sons.
 
Last edited:
Demand a portion of the funds received fraudulently in order to stay quiet

guy_with_thumbs_up.jpg
 
Here is the situation. My brother and his sons live in another state. My sister passed away this month from lung cancer. I traveled there for the funeral and to visit. When I got there i found my brother and two of his sons had not eaten for two days. So i went out and picked up some burgers. After they had eaten I took my brother and his sons in my rental car, none of them have a car, to buy groceries which I gladly paid for. On the way back they asked me to stop at a store so i did. They came out with beer and cigaretts. Well needless to say i was pissed. I asked, how can you afford beer and cigaretts but can't affod food. My brother responded "the store accepted his food stamp card for beer and smokes, isn't that cool" I said hell no its not cool. My brother and his adult sons are on food stamps. So what am I to do. Turn in my brother and his sons.

Blood is thicker than water - family always comes first.

Always - no questions asked.
 
Here is the situation. My brother and his sons live in another state. My sister passed away this month from lung cancer. I traveled there for the funeral and to visit. When I got there i found my brother and two of his sons had not eaten for two days. So i went out and picked up some burgers. After they had eaten I took my brother and his sons in my rental car, none of them have a car, to buy groceries which I gladly paid for. On the way back they asked me to stop at a store so i did. They came out with beer and cigaretts. Well needless to say i was pissed. I asked, how can you afford beer and cigaretts but can't affod food. My brother responded "the store accepted his food stamp card for beer and smokes, isn't that cool" I said hell no its not cool. My brother and his adult sons are on food stamps. So what am I to do. Turn in my brother and his sons.

Perhaps they don't have much because of their medical bills. Maybe you should offer to help them in any way that you can. I also imagine that they could be suffering from depression after the loss of the wife/mom. Sounds like a really sad situation all around to me.

Help them in any way I possibly can would have been the poll choice for me, but that's not an option.
 
Why would you even consider ratting out your own brother/nephews? It's a tiny amount of fraud, not armed robbery.

If you have to tattle tale about someone - rat out the store...not your own flesh and blood over some beer and cigarettes.
 
Here is the situation. My brother and his sons live in another state. My sister passed away this month from lung cancer. I traveled there for the funeral and to visit. When I got there i found my brother and two of his sons had not eaten for two days. So i went out and picked up some burgers. After they had eaten I took my brother and his sons in my rental car, none of them have a car, to buy groceries which I gladly paid for. On the way back they asked me to stop at a store so i did. They came out with beer and cigaretts. Well needless to say i was pissed. I asked, how can you afford beer and cigaretts but can't affod food. My brother responded "the store accepted his food stamp card for beer and smokes, isn't that cool" I said hell no its not cool. My brother and his adult sons are on food stamps. So what am I to do. Turn in my brother and his sons.

After you've cooled down, try and have a calm discussion with your brother. Tell him you didn't mind helping him out with the groceries, but it really bothers you that they would use their Food Stamps card for non-necessities. Tell him how you feel about it, without being judgmental.

Hopefully, maybe he'll see the light of day about how he's using that card.....

As to turning him in, well, if the program allows him to use his card for such products he's not actually committing fraud, just showing very poor judgment.
 
Force them to use their food stamps honestly and work to get off welfare or threaten to turn them in.
 
Not cool, but no, you shouldn't turn them in. Make them enlist in the military at gun point.
 
Rat out the store that fraudulently accepted EBT for booze and smokes.
 
As the Buddhists would say...sometimes the middle path is best.
 
Chances are you will see your brother-in-law and his kids less and less as time goes by, so don't sweat it.

If you really care, just report the store that accepted the card.
 
Blood is thicker than water - family always comes first.

Always - no questions asked.
Really, always? So if you found out your brother was raping and murdering children you would keep your mouth shut about it?
 
Really, always? So if you found out your brother was raping and murdering children you would keep your mouth shut about it?

And this question is coming from someone stymied by beer and cigarettes?

How difficult for you.
 
Chances are you will see your brother-in-law and his kids less and less as time goes by, so don't sweat it.

If you really care, just report the store that accepted the card.

This was not my brother in law. He is my brother. My siste, who died also lived in same area
 
And this question is coming from someone stymied by beer and cigarettes?

How difficult for you.

You said always not me. Keep in mind my sister just died from lung cancer and my brother and his sons are are starving and using food stamp cards to by cigaretts.
 
Blood is thicker than water - family always comes first.

Always - no questions asked.

That's actually not what "blood is thicker than water" means. In fact it actually means the opposite.

" the full proverb is "The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb", and refers to relationships formed by choice are deeper than those that are forced by birth."

Blood is thicker than water - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

...and goes back to Roman times (at least) to imply that the blood spilled (and bled) among fellow soldiers is more significant than from whom you were born.
 
As the Buddhists would say...sometimes the middle path is best.

That's a very helpful post. Thank you for contributing that. Not to switch topics midstream or anything, but have you considered a lucrative career in the fortune cookie industry?
 
I voted for turning in the store. Whether you should turn your relatives in is really a question only you can answer because only you know all of the relevant facts. I mean, for example, how old are the sons? What is their mental state? Are any of them involved with other illicit activity? Do they already have criminal records? How close are you to them? Assuming they're minors, are there other relative who could care for them? Would it perhaps be to their benefit to have someone else manage their benefits which could happen if you did turn them in? And so forth....

You might try to get in contact with someone, such as an licensed clinical social worker, who deals with this sort of thing professionally and get some advice. But I'd guess that if the store sold beer and cigs to your relatives they're doing it for others as well. That's probably where the Feds would want to point their investigative efforts in any case, simply because they have limited resources.
 
After you've cooled down, try and have a calm discussion with your brother. Tell him you didn't mind helping him out with the groceries, but it really bothers you that they would use their Food Stamps card for non-necessities. Tell him how you feel about it, without being judgmental.

Hopefully, maybe he'll see the light of day about how he's using that card.....

As to turning him in, well, if the program allows him to use his card for such products he's not actually committing fraud, just showing very poor judgment.

I did as you suggested before I left to come back home. However the program does not allow the purchase of beer and cigaretts. I love my brother and he is having a difficult time. I have helped him many times over the years. But I will not enable him. He is reaping what he sowed.
 
Having come from a long line of law enforcement professionals, I would recommend that you follow the rule of occupation that has served my family well.

Rule: Do not police your neighbor's, family or friend's. Let the other cops do that. You police THEIR neighbors, family and friends. It all works out better that way.

Regardless of your disdain, you will never find a way to be the "good guy" in this. Report them if you must but be prepared for blow back. For I assure you, in the end you will be made out to be the bad guy. It's kind of like telling someone their significant other is cheating on them. You can never win.

But if you wanted to tell the powers that be that the store is trading beer and cigs for food stamps, I suppose that might give you some solace. But do that knowing that there are 10,000 similar reports like that ahead of yours.
 
Here is the situation. My brother and his sons live in another state. My sister passed away this month from lung cancer. I traveled there for the funeral and to visit. When I got there i found my brother and two of his sons had not eaten for two days. So i went out and picked up some burgers. After they had eaten I took my brother and his sons in my rental car, none of them have a car, to buy groceries which I gladly paid for. On the way back they asked me to stop at a store so i did. They came out with beer and cigaretts. Well needless to say i was pissed. I asked, how can you afford beer and cigaretts but can't afford food. My brother responded "the store accepted his food stamp card for beer and smokes, isn't that cool" I said hell no its not cool. My brother and his adult sons are on food stamps. So what am I to do. Turn in my brother and his sons.

Only if you are also willing to turn in any Capitalist who also commits fraud, with the other Peoples' money. Know any, practitioners of the abomination of hypocrisy, who aren't related?
 
Chances are you will see your brother-in-law and his kids less and less as time goes by, so don't sweat it.

If you really care, just report the store that accepted the card.

I thought he said it's his BROTHER, though, not brother-in-law. I would think I would feel bad that they were obviously suffering after the loss of their mom/wife, and want to try to help them. Or at least try to get the kids some help. It sounds like this is a family that needs some counseling IMO.
 
That's actually not what "blood is thicker than water" means. In fact it actually means the opposite.

" the full proverb is "The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb", and refers to relationships formed by choice are deeper than those that are forced by birth."

Blood is thicker than water - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

...and goes back to Roman times (at least) to imply that the blood spilled (and bled) among fellow soldiers is more significant than from whom you were born.

So what do you suggest I do?
 
Here is the situation. My brother and his sons live in another state. My sister passed away this month from lung cancer. I traveled there for the funeral and to visit. When I got there i found my brother and two of his sons had not eaten for two days. So i went out and picked up some burgers. After they had eaten I took my brother and his sons in my rental car, none of them have a car, to buy groceries which I gladly paid for. On the way back they asked me to stop at a store so i did. They came out with beer and cigaretts. Well needless to say i was pissed. I asked, how can you afford beer and cigaretts but can't afford food. My brother responded "the store accepted his food stamp card for beer and smokes, isn't that cool" I said hell no its not cool. My brother and his adult sons are on food stamps. So what am I to do. Turn in my brother and his sons.

Tough question. I would agree that turning them in, if that is even feasible, would be a bad idea because they are your family and it is not equatable to murder/rape as you mentioned. You've been fooled once, so I doubt you'll allow yourself to be fooled again (meaning you know not to enable now). As someone else suggested, now that you know what's going on, you'll probably keep your distance so as not to be associated with fraud. You could try a heart to heart with your brother. If you do this, try to offer something constructive instead of just throwing spears. If you feel compelled enough to do something tangible, you could report the store, although they are simply taking advantage of a broken system. They probably aren't intending for people to buy cigs and beer over food, that was your brother's decision. You'll figure out the best course. Sorry for your loss.
 
Back
Top Bottom