A 44 year old Graham woman who works for the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, the entity in charge of the States Food Stamp program, was placed under arrest on suspicion of food stamp theft.
The Pierce County DSHS office was contacted by a former client who had turned in his EBT card in September of 2010 when he received a letter stating that he needed to recertify for his benefits. He thought that a bit odd, as he had asked the account be closed, and the office found that the card had been used to make purchases totally more than $3200 since that time.
They asked the Washington State Patrol to investigate, and the subject of the investigation was moved to a different assignment in DSHS for the duration. The investigation concluded with her arrest for four counts of unlawful redemption of food stamps, which is a felony.
On a lighter note, I’m sure she spent the $3200 she save in food purchases for something really awesome, and we all get the joy of helping to pay for it. Now that she got caught, we get to pay her room and board for a few years as well. The only ‘win’ to be found in this story anywhere is the guy who managed to get himself financially stable enough not to need the state assistance anymore. What’s even more impressive is that he voluntarily went in and turned in the card, even though he likely could have kept drawing benefits for at least a little while longer.
He used the system for precisely what it was intended for. To help get back on his feet. One could only hope that there might be a few more people out there like this guy. Hat’s off to you, good sir. I hope you have kids, and are teaching them to be as responsible as you are. We could use a few more people like you in this country.
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