OAN Staff Katherine Mosack and Brooke Mallory
11:02 AM – Friday, November 14, 2025
Following the ongoing government shutdown and persistent media coverage of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has since publicly revealed extensive fraud in the program, citing state-supplied data while urging sweeping reforms.
On Thursday, Rollins announced that SNAP benefits would now resume, beginning over the weekend, and that recipients would see funds loaded onto electronic payment cards for November by next week.
However, she also pointed to glaring discrepancies, emphasizing that SNAP is rife with fraud and abuse, while questioning the program’s overall legitimacy. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, SNAP currently serves more than 41 million Americans.
“SNAP is a broken program. SNAP is full of corruption. We found 186,000 dead people. We asked for the SNAP data earlier this year, [has] never been turned over to the federal government before, we had 29 states turn it over, mostly red states, 21 states said ‘no,’” the secretary told CNN anchor Pamela Brown. “We’re in litigation. From just those 29 states, we have found, again, almost 200,000 dead people. It’s just, it’s remarkable.”
She embedded a clip of her interview in a Thursday X post, declaring, “SNAP fraud is out of control, and the numbers we HAVE prove it.”
Advertisement“Why block transparency unless the truth is worse than the headlines?” She wrote, calling out states suing to keep their SNAP data private. “This is exactly what happens when a massive program runs on outdated lists and zero accountability. Not to mention the 40% increase in recipients under the Biden Administration…”
Rollins reiterated her concerns in an appearance on Newsmax’s program “Rob Schmitt Tonight.”
“186,000 deceased men and women and children in this country are receiving a check,” she said. “Now, that is what we’re really going to start clamping down on.”
The Agriculture Secretary went on to explain that there are around 500,000 people who receive two payments through SNAP.
“But here’s the really stunning thing: This is just data from those 29 mostly red states. Can you imagine when we get our hands on the blue state data what we’re going to find?” Rollins continued.
“It’s going to give us a platform and a trajectory to fundamentally rebuild this program, have everyone reapply for their benefit, make sure that everyone that’s taking a taxpayer-funded benefit through SNAP or food stamps, that they literally are vulnerable, and they can’t survive without it.”
The lapse in payments brought on by the 43-day shutdown invited intense scrutiny on the nutrition program, which Rollins recently approved restrictions on. In August, food stamp recipients were blocked from specifically purchasing “processed” food like sugary snacks and sodas — what most would not consider nutritional — in six states.
Additionally, viral online videos have since surfaced featuring EBT recipients voicing frustration over restricted SNAP benefits, yet many viewers have noted the irony, as these same individuals in the videos appear to afford luxury cosmetic treatments — $100 manicures, expensive hair extensions, eyelash extensions — alongside designer shoes and handbags.
In a TikTok video from August, one SNAP recipient says: “There are people that genuinely think that people who use EBT don’t deserve soda, candy, or desserts. You’re gonna tell me that my daughter doesn’t deserve a popsicle? You’re gonna tell me I don’t deserve to get brownies? You’re gonna tell me I can’t have a f***ing Dr. Pepper with my dinner? And all I’m hearing is, ‘Be grateful, be grateful, it’s free food.’ Get off of your throne of entitlement and take a look around you guys.”
On Thursday, one case involving a woman in Mississippi emerged as a striking illustration of how some individuals exploit the U.S. taxpayer-funded program, highlighting broader concerns about misuse and oversight within the system.
Victoria Reese, a resident of Jefferson Davis County, Mississippi, was arrested on October 3, 2025, following an indictment on October 1, 2025, for purportedly receiving $25,698 in ineligible SNAP benefits.
The MDHS Investigations Division conducted the probe, determining that she failed to accurately report changes in her household income and composition. The case was referred to the Jefferson Davis County District Attorney’s Office, and it remains under investigation as part of broader efforts to combat SNAP fraud amid heightened national scrutiny following the recent government shutdown.
Additionally, a 37-year-old former Rhode Island state employee, Dukenson Merisier, was charged on October 30, 2025, after investigators discovered that he underreported his income and fraudulently collected more than $17,000 in SNAP benefits between 2022 to 2024. He now faces a charge of obtaining money by false pretenses.
In light of such findings, Secretary Rollins declared, “It’s time to clean up SNAP NOW!!!”
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