Minnesota Woman Sentenced to Prison for Orchestrating $325K SNAP Fraud Scheme

A Minnesota resident has been sentenced to one year in prison for swindling over $325,000 in federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funds.

U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen announced last Friday that 39-year-old Latasha Thomas was found guilty of mail fraud and is required to pay restitution to the United States Department of Agriculture.

Latasha, along with her daughter, Ambrosia Thomas, and another family member, Cynthia Thomas, devised a plan over a two-year period to fraudulently obtain Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards. These cards, distributed by the state government to eligible applicants, receive monthly deposits from SNAP, according to the Justice Department.

A supermarket entrance sign welcoming EBT customers and displaying the SNAP logo. The Justice Department reported that a Minnesota woman defrauded the federal government of more than $325,000 in SNAP benefits. (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)

Federal prosecutors revealed that the group manufactured fake Minnesota temporary driver’s licenses under false identities, each featuring a photo of one of the Thomases.

The fake licenses were submitted to Hennepin County in applications for EBT cards. Believing their SNAP allotments could be increased if the purported recipients were confined to bedrest, the Thomases repeatedly claimed to be women experiencing a “high risk pregnancy,” prosecutors said. 

In addition, they submitted fake doctor’s notes in an effort to maximize their theft of government funds.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has come under fire for the massive amount of fraud uncovered in his state.  (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The EBT cards were sent by the state to Cynthia Thomas’s apartment in Roseville. She allegedly lived there under a false name—Sofia Gold—that appears on one of the scheme’s ill-begotten cards. 

When authorities searched the apartment, they found several pieces of mail addressed to pseudonyms used in the scheme. 

In the inside part of the apartment building’s mailbox—accessible only to building management and mail carriers—law enforcement found notes indicating that mail should be delivered to Cynthia’s apartment for several of the pseudonyms used in the scheme, authorities said. 

The trio withdrew government funds from ATMs and used them to make purchases. They also marketed and sold the use of the EBT cards to others, arranging for their customers to pick up an EBT card, use an agreed-upon portion of its monthly allotment, then return the card. 

The customers agreed to pay the conspirators a fee, usually 50-60%, for the privilege.

After serving her sentence, Thomas was ordered to repay $325,159 in restitution to the United States Department of Agriculture.

Cynthia Thomas was convicted last year for mail fraud conspiracy and was sentenced in December to probation for three years, Alpha News reported. Ambrosia Thomas has agreed to plead guilty to mail fraud, according to the news outlet, and her case is still in the pre-sentencing process.