Federal agents visited 20 retailers in the Twin Cities, Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, on April 16 with search warrants related to suspected food assistance fraud.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General said several federal agencies collaborated to identify stores engaging in “SNAP trafficking” — trading SNAP benefits for cash or ineligible items.
Homeland Security Investigations and USDA Office of Inspector General agents executed the search warrants and delivered administrative charging letters as part of “Operation Cold SNAP,” which began in February.
“If these charges are proven, the retailers could be removed from the program or subjected to other penalties,” the office said in a news release Thursday. “Evidence seized during the searches was referred to federal prosecutors.”
The news release did not specify which retailers were visited.
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