Client Fraud
An applicant can misrepresent their expenses, income, assets or household size in order to falsely receive benefits. FoodShare applicants are required to verify or prove all of their application claims. They must submit proof of their income and their savings. This is done with check stubs and bank statements. They must verify their assets. They can own a home or a car but they cannot hold other assets in excess of $2,000 and get FoodShare. They cannot give their assets away in order to qualify. Applicants must also prove expenses including mortgage, rent payments and utilities by submitting proof. Applicants must prove household size because benefits are given for entire households and not on a case-by-case basis.

An eligibility interview is conducted at application and the applicant is given time to collect and submit proof. Under the law only public sector workers are allowed to conduct the interview and confirm eligibility for FoodShare. The applicant is issued a debit card, called Quest in Wisconsin, which is used to purchase food. All members of the household are able to use the card.

FoodShare debit cards are not to be sold or exchanged. They are money for the purchase of food and the authorized user must have a Personal Identification Number (PIN) to use the card. When FoodShare recipients sell or exchange their debit card and PIN FoodShare fraud occurs. One way to detect this fraud is to investigate FoodShare recipients who repeatedly request replacement cards.

Retail Fraud
The second type of FoodShare fraud is perpetrated by retailers. A FoodShare recipient with an active Quest card can attempt to purchase ineligible items including alcohol, cigarettes, paper products or cell phones (examples only). If the retailer agrees to sell non-food items in exchange for FoodShare benefits there is fraud. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) monitors FoodShare redemption at the retail level and tests retailers to determine if FoodShare fraud is happening at the store level.

Employee Fraud
The third type of FoodShare fraud is perpetrated by employees at the FoodShare application site. This type of fraud involves active FoodShare cases belonging to a legitimate recipient of FoodShare that should have been closed by a FoodShare employee but were not. Confidential information is used to manipulate benefit receipts and to issue a Quest card. Well-run application sites segregate the employee duties of authorizing benefits from issuing benefits. In order for employees to commit this type of fraud, active collusion between two or more employees from separate work areas must occur.