Fox25 exposes Massachusetts welfare recipients spending welfare in strip clubs, casinos, marijuana, out of state vacations etc –
-EBT card holders racked up nearly $4 million in out-of-state welfare cash withdrawals, including $290,000 in Florida.
-Taxpayers footed the bill for welfare dollars used in Hawaii, Myrtle Beach and even the Virgin Islands – where more than $4,000 in EBT cash was withdrawn for ATMs on the tropical island.
-EBT cards were also used at ATMs inside strip clubs in Los Angeles and Boston, including $60 at The Glass Slipper – where the entrance fee is $10.
-More than $6,000 in EBT cash was pulled from ATMs in the Las Vegas area, including several casinos and one card holder even took $100 from an ATM on a Carnival cruise ship.
State records also show EBT cash withdrawals at Ocean Gaming Casino in Hampton, NH and at Connecticut casino destination Mohegan Sun.
Using cash assistance for medical marijuana is legal, but 25 Investigates has confirmed several of those same locations are now seeking to sell recreational pot. Using EBT cash for recreational marijuana is against the law, but the state may not be able to block ATMs at pot shops in the future because those same cash machines may also be used by pot patients.
Last year, Boston Fox25 investigative team exposed welfare recipients selling their food stamps on facebook:
FOX25 Investigates uncovers food stamps for sale on Facebook
www.fox25boston.com/news/fox25-investigates-uncovers-food-stamps-for-sale-on-facebook/492407178
They need to do away with this EBT cash nonsense and go back to food stamps. It’s far too easy for recipients to use their cash for bullshit items.
Here in NH a convenience store worker refused to use a customer’s welfare card to purchase cigarettes and she lost her job – from 2012:
Clerk loses job over stand
Won’t take welfare card for cigarettes
Maine and a few other states are cracking down on this fraud and abuse:
How These States Ensure Welfare Dollars Aren’t Used for Alcohol, Lottery Tickets
A new state law in Maine went into effect last month prohibiting welfare recipients from purchasing items like alcohol, lottery tickets, and tattoos with their welfare funds.
Alongside Kansas, Maine has been one of the leading states reforming welfare, and nearly half of the states have already taken action.
Maine Gov. Paul LePage, a Republican, made welfare reform a cornerstone of his gubernatorial campaign, and since taking office, the state reinstated work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents on food stamps and put back in place a 60-month lifetime limit for those in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, program.
h/t ElleMira