MD Lawmakers hold hearing on EBT fraud reimbursement bill

MARYLAND- Maryland is looking to tackle a rampant problem of EBT food stamp theft in the state, by helping to pay back victims of fraud while upping the security of EBT Cards.

The Prevent Electronic Benefits Theft Act of 2023 would require the Department of Human Services to reimburse a beneficiary for any benefits lost due to the fraudulent use of the beneficiary’s Electronic Benefits Transfer card from as far back as 2020.

Bill Sponsor Senator Katie Fry Hester argues thousands have had their EBT accounts broken into by scammers, and had the money fraudulently withdrawn and spent in fraud schemes, with many purchases even happening outside state lines.

Testifying at Thursday’s hearing, Lead Attorney Public Justice Center Health and Equity Project says for years those concerns were not responded to by the Hogan administration.

“Even in circumstances where it was painfully obvious the money had been stolen because the transaction showed it was spent in another state, DHS still did not reimburse the victims, she said arguing “We believe EBT cards need to be increased in security at the same level as that of credit and debit cards issued by banks to prevent theft as illegal skimming devices and hard to spot.”

She believes the state cannot simply reprint cards with new numbers as the same methods that compromised the cards in the past could once again be used to defraud recipients, many of whom thought they would be receiving hundreds of dollars for the purchase of food, before realizing their accounts had been wiped.

The bill would also require the state to establish a certain point of contact for investigating and identifying debt fraud and help to apply certain provisions of the Act retroactively.