Food stamp fraud more prevalent after Hurricane Irma

ORLANDO, Fla. — Tens of thousands of people have lined up at Camping World Stadium, and at other sites throughout the state, to get government benefits after Hurricane Irma.

State officials said that inside the help centers, they’ve stopped millions of dollars in fraud.

But the benefit centers are not the only place it’s happening.

Ads have been appearing on sites like Facebook and Craigslist offering to illegally exchange food benefit cards for lesser amounts of cash.

Simply typing in the words “food stamps” on Facebook Market Place caused sellers to pop up.

Those waiting in the rain, heat and long lines at Camping World Stadium don’t like hearing about fraud.

“That’s taking advantage. I understand you might be short on cash, but that’s not the way to go about it. If you’re going to get food, replace your food,” said Marcos Gonzalez.

Other ads on Craigslist offered to sell $1,200 food stamp cards for $600 in cash.

Anyone caught committing food stamp fraud will have to pay the money back and face criminal charges.

They also can be banned from state programs for life.

Cox Media Group