Food Stamp Trafficking

The Department of Agriculture has taken new steps to stop illegal trafficking in food stamps. A proposed rule would widen the definition of trafficking itself. It would ban food establishments from giving cash refunds for items purchased with food stamps. It's already illegal to trade food stamps directly for cash. USDA also wants the authority to immediately freeze payments to retailers it suspects of trafficking violations, instead of waiting for an investigation. Last year, USDA kicked 1,400 retailers out of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.