Bombshell EBT Investigation: Cash Withdrawals in Vegas, Resorts in Hawaii
I kind of wonder what Jason Greenslate is up to these days.
Greenslate, in case you forgot, was the young gentleman known as “Lobster Boy.” He was the surfer who infamously bought sushi and lobster with his EBT card when he was profiled as part of a Fox News special on food stamps in the early part of this rapidly expiring decade.
I haven’t heard of Greenslate’s band Rattlife making it big in the interim, and he hasn’t tried to make a reality television living out of being Lobster Boy — too ambitious, I guess — so who knows what he’s up to. What I do remember is us being told that Greenslate was totally, absolutely, 100 percent nothing like most EBT recipients.
This is actually true. He was definitely an outlier — although an outlier who illustrated the flaws in the system. Years later, there are still plenty of outliers, as a review by the Boston Herald found.
According to the report, published Monday, Massachusetts state EBT cards have been used frequently in places like Hawaii and Las Vegas.
Out-of-state transactions are only supposed to happen in certain cases, the Herald reported.
“A Herald review of more than 2 million EBT expenditures in fiscal year 2019 found the cards being used in Hawaii on 18 different occasions,” the outlet said.
”Thousands of other out-of-state transactions included cash withdrawals in Las Vegas, and numerous card uses in Alaska, California, Florida and Louisiana. The state Department of Transitional Assistance on Monday did not provide any explanation for the out-of-state spending of benefits that are intended for the needy and hardship cases.”
It’s hardly just supermarkets, either. Take the Princeville Resort in Hawaii, which bills itself as “a sanctuary for the modern luminary” and the “best address” in the state.
Last November, $400 was reportedly charged there. That doesn’t exactly sound like something done out of need or hardship — not in a resort where a room goes for $800 a night.
The Sheraton Waikiki in Honolulu, meanwhile — described as a “paradise” and “priceless” by guests — was the site of a $140 transaction.
“The cash used came from EBT cards from the Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children and Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled and Children. Food stamps were not included in the data shared,” the Herald reported.
These uses in Hawaii, mind you, took up just 18 of 2 million transactions made with Massachusetts EBT cards in 2019.
However, keep in mind that the Herald found “thousands” of total out-of-state transactions.
The state’s Department of Transitional Assistance said it looks out for “continuous out of state EBT card usage,” usually to see if recipients have moved out of state.
“DTA uses enhanced data analytics to proactively monitor Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card transactions and was the second state in the country to launch an aggressive program to stop fraud before it occurred by blocking locations where cash assistance use is prohibited,” a spokesperson said.
The DTA also said it monitors cards for over 45 days of continuous use outside of Massachusetts, at which point EBT recipients must provide evidence of residence within the state.
However, if that were the case, why were Massachusetts EBT cards being used in Hawaii?
“That’s a red flag,” state Rep. Shaunna O’Connell, described in the article as a “welfare watchdog,” told the Herald.
“Hawaii? That’s outrageous. How do you get there if you are on tax assistance?
“We shouldn’t see expenditures at five-star resorts,” she added. “If there are ongoing expenditures in Hawaii that is a huge problem that needs to be investigated by the DTA.”
“This just breeds massive doubt and cynicism,” Greg Sullivan, a former state inspector general currently with the Pioneer Institute, added. “People who do that do a tremendous disservice to those who really need the money.”
“I’ve always questioned why EBT cards were allowed to be used out of state,” he said. “Seeing money spent at the ‘Best Address’ in Hawaii just shows the system lacks controls.”
And yet, while Massachusetts benefits can’t be used on vacations, they can be used on hotels — a major loophole.
Whatever the case, the Herald noted that major changes were implemented when they first pointed out the misuse of the EBT cards in 2012.
I doubt that’ll happen again.
The explosive growth of the program under the Obama years is now a slow decline.
It doesn’t feel as urgent as it did. If only one of these guys had bought a lobster.
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