A New York man is facing charges related to EBT fraud in South Florida, authorities said.
Thajanhney Tapahrelle Thomas, 19, of Brooklyn, was arrested by Davie Police on Tuesday on charges including unlawful use of food assistance benefits, organized scheme to defraud, communications fraud, criminal misuse of personal information, use of scanning device, skimming device, or reencoder to defraud, possession of a skimming device, and petit theft, Broward jail records showed.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the arrest in a news release Wednesday.
Uthmeier said a Walmart employee had recognized a U-Haul vehicle in the parking lot that had matched a recent alert concerning fraudulent EBT purchases of baby formula.
Two people, including Thomas, got out of the vehicle and Thomas was seen buying several containers of baby formula using two separate EBT cards, Uthmeier…
PROCUREMENT & EXPENDITURE (STOPPING KICKBACKS)
Procurement fraud usually involves inflated invoices or “fictitious” vendors.
- The Three-Way Match: Never pay an invoice unless you have matched the Purchase Order (PO), the Delivery Note (signed), and the Supplier Invoice.
- Vendor Master File Review: Review your vendor list annually. Look for suppliers with the same bank details or physical addresses as your employees.
- Dual Authorization: Implement a “Two-to-Sign” rule for all EFT payments above a certain threshold (e.g., R5,000).
- No “Cashing” of Checks: If you still use physical checks, strictly prohibit “Cash” as a payee and store blank checks in a dual-lock safe.