Small: Time to target government fraud

Time to target government fraud

By Jonathan Small

The state of Minnesota has recently made national news for an astounding level of fraud. When YouTuber Nick Shirley visited numerous daycare centers receiving an estimated $110 million in taxpayer subsidies, he found most appeared to serve no children. The resulting outcry led Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to abruptly announce he was abandoning a re-election bid. Federal officials are now investigating.

Similarly, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York recently filed charges against a long list of defendants accused of perpetrating one of the largest food-stamp fraud schemes in history, totaling more than $66 million in alleged illegal transactions.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently estimated as much as 10 percent of the federal budget, around $300 billion to $600 billion per year, is stolen by fraudsters.

Oklahomans respond, “At least that’s not happening here.” But there’s good reason for state officials to demand review and careful inspection of various welfare programs in Oklahoma, including the food-stamp program.

The share of Oklahomans receiving food-stamp benefits through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) appears far higher than what one would expect based on economic conditions in the state.

And when the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently reviewed food-stamp data, the amount of apparent fraud cases in Oklahoma far exceeded the rate in neighboring states. Nationwide, the U.S. Department of Agriculture identified 186,000 dead people receiving benefits and 356,000 duplicate enrollments, meaning people receiving food-stamp benefits in more than one state.

In the local region, most states have relatively little food-stamp fraud.

In Arkansas, officials identified 1,172 instances of stolen food-stamp benefits in the first quarter of 2025. In Missouri, there were 595 cases. In Kansas, officials found only 64 instances and in Missouri, just 67. In Colorado, officials identified 2,702 cases. In Louisiana, officials identified 1,454 instances of stolen benefits. In Texas, there were 13,067.

But in Oklahoma, the agency indicated there were 20,742 incidents of apparent fraud.

Even the legal use of food stamps highlights the need for reform.

A 2016 report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture found about 20 percent of SNAP funds were spent on “sweetened drinks, desserts, salty snacks, candy, and sugar.” The report, which analyzed point-of-sale data, found that households receiving food stamps actually spent more on soda than non-welfare households. Research that examined SNAP recipients in Los Angeles in 2017 found that SNAP participants had double the odds of obesity.

This means taxpayers are often being ripped off by criminals who steal food-stamp funds for other uses, and that taxpayers are also helping underwrite unhealthy lifestyle choices that make people less healthy and ultimately more dependent upon taxpayer subsidies elsewhere.

Oklahoma lawmakers must reform the food-stamp program and implement robust verification processes. Otherwise, Oklahoma may follow the path blazed by Minnesota.

Jonathan Small serves as president of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs.