More than half a million in food benefits stolen from North Carolinians [Video]

NORTH CAROLINA, USA — More than $554,000 in food benefit dollars have been stolen from North Carolina’s Food and Nutrition Services participants since Aug. 18, according to a press release from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

No further fraudulent activity has been reported since Sept. 6, 2024, when NCDHHS implemented a block on online transactions originating from Connecticut, Florida, and New York that appeared to be tied to fraudulent activity.

The surge in stolen benefits is related to online transactions that took place at BJ’s Wholesale Club and was disproportionately impacting participants with higher balances. NCDHHS has been cooperating with federal, state, and local law enforcement since October 2022 when FNS participants nationwide started being targeted by criminals who were stealing Electronic Benefit Transfer cards through various methods of card skimming, card cloning, and fraudulent transactions. Since October 2022, more than $2.7 million in …