A U.S. Department of Agriculture employee, Arlasa Davis, was arrested last week along with five others for their alleged roles in a massive $66 million food stamp fraud scheme, described as one of the largest in U.S. history.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the conspiracy, which began in 2019, involved a network of approximately 160 unauthorized Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) terminals at stores across the New York area. These terminals processed around $30 million in EBT transactions.
The scheme centered on Davis, who allegedly sold hundreds of EBT license numbers, enabling $36 million in fraudulent Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) redemptions.
Perry Carbone, the U.S. Attorney, stated, “Michael Kehoe and his co-conspirators misappropriated tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds meant to help low-income families put food on the table. This fraud was made possible when USDA employee Arlasa Davis betrayed the public trust by selling confidential government information to the very criminals she was supposed to catch. Their actions undermined a program that vulnerable New Yorkers depend on for basic nutrition.”
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins addressed the theft in an interview with Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo, highlighting the severity of the fraud and the department’s commitment to combating such criminal activity.
