This is an old article (2011), but it’s this sort of stuff that have people hoppin’ mad when they see how their hard-earned tax dollars are/have been used, under the guise of helping the poor:
http://humanevents.com/2011/01/15/gettin-fat-gamblin-and-cruisin-on-food-stamps/
A lot of the loopholes with EBT cards have been/are being closed, but the ‘government’ (state & Feds) haven’t exactly been responsible in the way OUR money has been distributed and it certainly goes to a lot of folks who should not be getting it. Having stood behind the two carts of a couple who were buying steaks, crab legs and a lot of other food that I myself could not afford, yet I was paying taxes that gave them the means to buy “luxury” food items, it pi$$ed me off royally. I’m still not over it. There are people who legitimately need help - no one should go hungry in this country, but the means to help them has been greatly perverted.
My opinion only.
The first thing to try to put the brakes on the abuse would be to have the EBT card holder’s picture on his/her card. I watched a big, strong guy pay for half a cart of meat products with an EBT card recently. Nothing unusual about that around here. After he swiped the card he had the cashier punch in the numbers for him as he read them off of a piece of paper he took from his wallet. Card got bounced. He made a phone call. Dictated numbers back to the cashier. Bounced again. Dictated another set of numbers. Card was accepted. FRAUD.