Among the 216 arrests was a woman living in a $300,000 home in Fairfield Twp.’s Walden Ponds subdivision. The woman was using her son’s SNAP card for groceries while he was in jail.
“Her excuse was he told her to use the card because it was going to expire. She said she was buying items for her son to use when he got out,” Rosser said. “He went to prison for three years. I am thinking the milk won’t be good when he gets out.”
SNAP benefits can only be used to buy foods to eat, such as:
breads and cereal
fruits and vegetables
meats, fish and poultry
dairy products
seeds and plants to produce food
SNAP benefits cannot be used to buy:
Beer, wine, liquor, cigarettes or tobacco
Any nonfood items, such as pet foods, soaps, paper products, diapers, and household supplies
Vitamins and medicines
Another woman was arrested after she used a neighbor’s card to purchase two gallons of milk for her cat. She told detectives it was going to “starve to death.”
The Butler County operation also uncovered drug addicts trading their SNAP cards for heroin.
“They didn’t want to eat, they wanted caps of heroin,” Rosser said.
Some also offered to sell their benefits for 50 cents on the dollar, and Rosser said it happens on street corners, in homes and even at the grocery store.
“Someone sees a person in a store pushing a cart load of groceries and goes up and and says, ‘Give me $100 for this card. It has $200 on it,’ ” Rosser said. That cash, he said, is then used to buy drugs or items not permitted with assistance funds, including alcohol and cigarettes.
The investigation also uncovered retailers who buy cards or allow people to purchase unauthorized items.