The Department of Justice announced Friday that two men had been indicted in Pennsylvania for SNAP fraud.
Randy Welch, 46, of Michigan, and Earnest Morant, 58, of Harrisburg, reportedly filed fake SNAP benefit applications and then transferred them for cash, according to the DOJ. Welch used other people’s personal information in the applications.
The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services would issue SNAP EBT cards following receipt of the bogus applications. According to the DOJ, Morant also received a large number of counterfeit cards and mailed them to other coconspirators, who then sold them for cash.
A federal grand jury charged Welch and Morant with conspiracy to defraud SNAP payments. According to the DOJ, they face a potential sentence of five years in prison, a fine, and supervised release for the conspiracy charge.