Louisiana Food Stamp Glitch -- Scammers lose benefits.

[mrsat_98]

http://theuspatriot.com/2014/03/01/louisiana-strips-food-stamp-benefits-from-welfare-recipients-for-breaking-the-law/

When you abuse the system, you should be held accountable. These folks took advantage of a computer glitch to steal, if not from Walmart, than from the people of Louisiana. They deserve this:

Louisiana’s social services department said Monday it has stripped food stamps from six people who deliberately overspent their monthly benefits when the electronic service was down in October and was working to disqualify another 25 people.

Details of possible fraud also have been shared with local law enforcement, for district attorneys to decide if they want to prosecute people for knowingly breaching the limits on their monthly food stamp benefits.

The Department of Children and Family Services said it continues to work through the administrative hearing process, targeting 500 people out of 12,000 transactions that overspent available food stamp benefits four months ago during the system crash.

“The investigation and disqualification process is ongoing, and we expect it to result in additional disqualifications,” DCFS Secretary Suzy Sonnier said in a statement.



Several Louisiana retailers allowed food stamp recipients to make unlimited purchases on Oct. 12, when the electronic card system was down and balances couldn’t be checked. News reports showed carts at some stores piled high with groceries that were abandoned after the system was back online.

About 12,000 insufficient funds transactions were conducted when the contractor, Xerox Corp., had technical problems that shut down the system, though not all transactions are assumed to be intentionally fraudulent.

This isn’t a joke. This is a crime. If it was a deliberate attempt to defraud taxpayers, then they shouldn’t just be stripped of benefits. They should be prosecuted.

[angelatc]

It is a start - I hope they prosecute more.

[torchbearer]

+1

[Anti Federalist]

*lose.

*benefits.

[roho76]

6 people? Why even publish that? I wonder how much time/money/resources where spent on finding these 6 people?

[aGameOfThrones]

6 people? Why even publish that? I wonder how much time/money/resources where spent on finding these 6 people?


500 SGA-wraiths, only 6 and maybe another 25 are going have their children starve?

[tod evans]

and maybe another 25 are going have their children starve?

There won't be any starving children...

This free food stuff on the federal dime needs to end yesterday, right along with the free housing and medical...

[mrsat_98]

http://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/2011/rs/title14/rs14-73-5

2011 Louisiana Laws
Revised Statutes
TITLE 14 — Criminal law
RS 14:73.5 — Computer fraud

Universal Citation: LA Rev Stat § 14:73.5
§73.5. Computer fraud
A. Computer fraud is the accessing or causing to be accessed of any computer, computer system, computer network, or any part thereof with the intent to:
(1) Defraud; or
(2) Obtain money, property, or services by means of false or fraudulent conduct, practices, or representations, or through the fraudulent alteration, deletion, or insertion of programs or data.
B. Whoever commits computer fraud shall be fined not more than ten thousand dollars, or imprisoned with or without hard labor for not more than five years, or both.
Acts 1984, No. 711, §1; Acts 1988, No. 184, §1, eff. July 1, 1988.

Disclaimer: These codes may not be the most recent version. Louisiana may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.

[cajuncocoa]

Good.

[cajuncocoa]

6 people? Why even publish that? I wonder how much time/money/resources where spent on finding these 6 people?
It probably wasn't too hard to find them. They used their food stamps card to steal from Walmart. It was probably pretty easy to trace.

[Tod]

*lose.

*benefits.

As long as we are at it:


....if not from Walmart, then from the people of Louisiana.

:)


Prosecute people with supposedly no money? So we can place an even greater burden on taxpayers by having them pay for the prosecution and punishment?

I'm kind of seeing a lose/lose situation here.

[tod evans]

It probably wasn't too hard to find them. They used their food stamps card to steal from Walmart. It was probably pretty easy to trace.

I'm willing to bet that literally hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars were spent getting to the point that "government" put out this press release....

[Lindsey]

Anyone else notice it doesn't say how long their benefits are suspended for? They'll probably be eligible to apply again in a few months.

[jbauer]

Bout time. Now cancel the rest. Or switch them all to wic and give them a cookbook.

[roho76]

It probably wasn't too hard to find them. They used their food stamps card to steal from Walmart. It was probably pretty easy to trace.

I assure you they spent more than was stolen? It's impossible for them not to.

[mczerone]

So the state messed up it's program, and people exploited the loophole?

These prosecutions are just a pathological projection of the bureaucrat's sense of insecurity.

[mczerone]

http://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/2011/rs/title14/rs14-73-5

2011 Louisiana Laws
Revised Statutes
TITLE 14 — Criminal law
RS 14:73.5 — Computer fraud

Universal Citation: LA Rev Stat § 14:73.5
§73.5. Computer fraud
A. Computer fraud is the accessing or causing to be accessed of any computer, computer system, computer network, or any part thereof with the intent to:
(1) Defraud; or
(2) Obtain money, property, or services by means of false or fraudulent conduct, practices, or representations, or through the fraudulent alteration, deletion, or insertion of programs or data.
B. Whoever commits computer fraud shall be fined not more than ten thousand dollars, or imprisoned with or without hard labor for not more than five years, or both.
Acts 1984, No. 711, §1; Acts 1988, No. 184, §1, eff. July 1, 1988.

Disclaimer: These codes may not be the most recent version. Louisiana may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.

And the relevance of this computer fraud statute to the case at hand......?

These people weren't "accessing or causing to be accessed" any computer system, they were acting on the knowledge that the state can't manage their own computers.

[Bungeebones]

Why does it matter when the money/food they are given is printed up out of thin air? Heck, give 'em all a raise and call it "Quantatative Feeding". Then pay the docs to cure the obesity and cal that Obama Care. And then drop the interest rates to prop up the home owner and call it "The American Dream". Oops, they already did that one.

[Bungeebones]

http://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/2011/rs/title14/rs14-73-5

2011 Louisiana Laws
Revised Statutes
TITLE 14 — Criminal law
RS 14:73.5 — Computer fraud

Universal Citation: LA Rev Stat § 14:73.5
§73.5. Computer fraud
A. Computer fraud is the accessing or causing to be accessed of any computer, computer system, computer network, or any part thereof with the intent to:
(1) Defraud; or
(2) Obtain money, property, or services by means of false or fraudulent conduct, practices, or representations, or through the fraudulent alteration, deletion, or insertion of programs or data.
B. Whoever commits computer fraud shall be fined not more than ten thousand dollars, or imprisoned with or without hard labor for not more than five years, or both.
Acts 1984, No. 711, §1; Acts 1988, No. 184, §1, eff. July 1, 1988.

Disclaimer: These codes may not be the most recent version. Louisiana may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.

Then everyone in the US is guilty because every FRN was gotten through fraud, everyone has benefitted, and everyone is passing the bill on to future generations. (Quick, pull the ladder up! I've got mine!)

[oyarde]

I have no sympathy for these people or issuers of food stamps , as long as there are free food cards , there will be fraud .End it all now. For those that are truly needy , that is what local , voluntary charity food banks are for . Anything else is ridiculous theft from the people , many of whom are in similar circumstance as those on the dole .This is immoral .

[mrsat_98]

The computer glitch that caused this was intentional so that situation could be studied by government.