BOARDMAN — Several township residents have been victims of food stamp theft over the past week, and they may be left in dire straits.

The lapse of a federal program that reimburses victims of SNAP benefits theft means there is no way for them to recover the money they use for groceries each month if the theft occurred after Dec. 20, 2024.

“It’s particularly heinous that thieves would choose to target those already facing challenges. It’s very unfortunate,” said Bill Teets, a spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 provided for replacement of stolen SNAP benefits, but it was not renewed in the American Relief Act of 2025, signed into law Dec. 21.

Teets said there is no remedy through the state either.

“The short answer is that it’s a federal program, so any fix for it has to come from the federal government,” he said. “At this time there’s no intention to create any type of replacement for a federal-funded program.”

On Jan. 7, a woman discovered that her card had been used to make a $148.70 purchase at a store in Brooklyn, New York. She was advised to report the fraud to Ohio Attorney General David Yost’s office and the Federal Trade Commission.

On Sunday, Boardman police took three reports about benefits theft. After one man went shopping at Grocery Outlet, he still had $219.75 available in his account. But when he finished shopping a little while later at Marc’s, his EBT card was declined and his account said he had only $33.13 left. An agent at JFS told him the account showed a purchase at Walmart for $186.62. The man said he had not shopped at Walmart.

He had to cancel his card and was told to contact the Ohio Attorney General’s office.

Another man reported that his account was reduced to a $0 balance after someone made a purchase using his information at a store in Baltimore, Maryland. He also had to deactivate his card.

And a woman reported that an unauthorized purchase had been made for $262.72 at a store in Chicago.

On Jan. 8, police also took a report from a man who said his account information had been stolen and illegitimate purchases made by someone in Washington state in November. He too was directed to Yost’s office and the FTC. But because the theft happened before Dec. 20, the man likely will be reimbursed for the losses.

Teets said the trend began about two years ago when ODJFS started seeing mostly card skimming and thefts using information gleaned through phishing scams.

“It’s not unusual. These criminals have a tendency to work their way around the state,” he said. “They will look at account balances, so they know exactly how much they can take out.”

He said they try to work with state and local officials to get ahead of it.

“We’ll see flare-ups here and there, that come to us through local law enforcement, and we’ll reach out to local JFS offices and let them know what to look out for.”

Teets said those receiving benefits can use the ConnectEBT app to lock their card down when not in use and should use precautions like changing their pin on the day before receiving their monthly benefits and always choosing a new pin for replacement cards.

“These sound like simple things, but it’s how the bad guys are getting the job done,” Teets said.

Teets said benefits recipients can learn more about keeping safe on the ODJFS website at https://jfs.ohio.gov/.