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.
[ Read: 500 DCF members assist Hurricane Irma victims at Camping World Stadium ]
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.
[ LINK: Times and locations fore sign ups ]
Those waiting in the rain, heat and long lines at Camping World Stadium don’t like hearing about fraud.
[ Hurricane Irma: About 18,000 people show up for food benefits in Orange County Sunday ]
“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.
[ Read: Hurricane Irma cost Florida 127K jobs, but most will return ]
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.