Governor: State Investigating Irene-Related Food Stamp Fraud

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Sunday announced that his administration is investigating "multiple incidents" of potential fraud against the state by people - including state employees - who received federal benefits from the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene.

An angry Malloy first apologized for calling a Sunday news conference but then said he has directed Department of Social Services Commissioner Roderick L. Bremby to complete a "systematic audit of irregularities" in the applications for the emergency aid.

“The idea that someone would use the occurrence of a devastating storm as an opportunity to defraud a public program is an outrage,” Malloy said. “The fact that some of this potential fraud may have been perpetrated by state employees makes this situation that much more offensive. One of the fundamental responsibilities of government is to ensure proper and honest conduct by its own employees. Unfortunately, we are finding examples of conduct that, if fully substantiated, could result in dismissal or even prosecution."

Malloy said he wanted to make it clear that, right now, he is "only dealing with the appearance of impropriety." Each incident of potential fraud will be thoroughly investigated before any action is taken against anyone.

He was clear that said any state employees involved will face termination and prosecution.

Federal D-SNAP funding was made available to low-income Connecticut residents who incurred disaster-related expenses from Tropical Storm Irene, including loss of income, temporary shelter costs and property repairs, Malloy said. While state employees may be eligible to participate in the D-SNAP program, an initial review of several applications found that some of them came from employees with incomes that exceed the program’s income requirements, he added.

“If any of these state employees are indeed guilty I am disappointed beyond words,” Lt. Gov. Governor Nancy Wyman said. “This is a program for people in need and for their children. To abuse this program is not only a crime, it is nothing less than a moral outrage.”

Nearly 24,000 Connecticut residents were found eligible for the D-SNAP benefits during the application period, which lasted from Sept. 21 through 27, a news release from Malloy indicated. 

Malloy said he has directed Bremby to deploy the DSS anti-fraud staff to reviews applications from the general public, as well as applications from state employees, as part of the D-SNAP investigation.

“This initiative brought in $12.4 million in additional federal food benefits for Connecticut residents and the Connecticut economy after Tropical Storm Irene,” Commissioner Bremby said.  “We operated the program by the federal rules, which did not require any immediate verification of income or assets.

He added that the investigations are underscoring the point that federal acceptance of the income self-declaration makes the program more vulnerable to fraud.

Administered by states, the federal D-SNAP program is intended to provide food assistance to households not already in the SNAP program - also known as food stamps.

Those receiving aid must meet income and asset eligibility requirements. A Mallow spokesman said the average Irene payout was $684 and the maximum $1,202.

Chris Dehnel is the editor of Vernon Patch, where this article was originally posted.