MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A new state audit says more than 400 Wisconsin prisoners have illegally collected food stamp benefits.
The Legislative Audit Bureau ran the names, social security numbers and birthdates of the 831,414 people receiving food stamps in January through state Department of Corrections records. Auditors found 447 prisoners had accrued state FoodShare benefits in violation of federal law. Auditors said it was unclear how long the prisoners had been accruing benefits — some had been doing it for three years, others for only a few months.
The finding was part of the audit bureau’s overall examination of the FoodShare program. The report says the program handed out $1.1 billion in benefits in the year that ended June 30, an increase of nearly 207 percent from fiscal year 2006-07.
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