Evidently, nationwide. But no one seems to care:
- Link cards are supposed to help families across the country that are out of work or struggling financially to put food on the table.
It’s the modern-day version of food stamp, and it’s all funded by taxpayers. But local convenience store operators are getting their hands on the cards and profiting without selling any food, [...].
Nationwide, the problem is so bad, it is estimated there is $330 million in Link Card fraud each year.
If you go into any corner grocery store in certain neighborhoods, the only food items in evidence are bags of chips and assorted drinks, yet these corner stores pull in more Link and WIC money than any individual Jewel or Dominick's store. How can that be? Fraud, on a massive scale, but no one is following up on it.
Anyone want to guess where much of this money ends up? We're betting overseas, working against American interests. And even Tom Dart recognizes the problem:
Anyone want to guess where much of this money ends up? We're betting overseas, working against American interests. And even Tom Dart recognizes the problem:
In Illinois alone, $251 million in Link Card food assistance is given to recipients each month. The big bucks are badly abused, says Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart.
“I could do Link Card cases every minute of the day, and use every person that works for me, and I’m still not going to be able to get out in front of this thing,” he says.