The CBS 2 Investigators uncover loopholes in a federal benefits program that hurt struggling families when they’re victims of fraud
CHICAGO (CBS) — Nearly one million people in Cook County rely on the federally-funded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Ana Salgado is one of them.
Reed Nolan/CBS Chicago
Salgado is a divorced, single mother of four who works as a store manager but does not earn enough to feed her family. From time to time, she relies on SNAP benefits to fill the gaps. At the beginning of a recent month, on the day after her SNAP funds usually become available, she filled her cart with about $200 worth of groceries.
At the checkout she got a surprise. When she went to pay, she recalls the clerk told her, “There’s nothing in there. It says $0.”
Salgado usually receives about $400 a month. With some unused benefits added to that, she should have had more than $800 on her Link card that day in June. Link is an electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card through which SNAP funds are distributed. The Illinois Link card is used similarly to credit and debit cards but don’t have the same fraud protections available.
When Salgado discovered her entire balance had vanished, she was shocked.
“I…
