For some Southeast Texas families, $130 in SNAP benefits can mean weeks of groceries. But two women in Port Arthur said their benefits vanished within hours of being deposited, and they’ve been told the money will not be replaced.
Jacqueline McGee said her $130 in SNAP benefits was deposited Sept. 5. By 2:18 that morning, she said transactions at businesses in New York drained the account.
McGee showed what she said was all she had left in her freezer at her Port Arthur apartment.
“Two packs — only have two packs of meat left,” McGee said.
“These are the Meals on Wheels for my mother… and like some fish that I got yesterday from the pantry. But other than that… I really needed my food stamps,” she said.
McGee said the loss has taken a toll.
“My anxiety has been at an all-time high these past couple of days because I’m just stressing trying to figure out what I’m going to do,” she said.
Her neighbor, Juanita Mendoza, said the same thing happened to her. Mendoza said she gets $130 on the ninth of each month and stretches it for weeks. She said she learned Thursday about an unauthorized transaction that left her account with only 42 cents to spend at a local grocery store.
“That’s where I go, and I fill up, and it lasts me three weeks. Canned goods, meats, fruits, butter, vegetables, bread, tortillas… stuff that I know that I can stretch. And now I can’t. Because it’s gone,” Mendoza said.
Both women said their cards never left their possession.
Texas Health and Human Services said it takes benefit security seriously and acknowledged the broader issue of SNAP fraud.
“HHSC takes the security of our client’s benefits very seriously. SNAP card skimming has been a persistent problem across the country, including Texas,” the agency said in a statement.
The agency also said stolen benefits are no longer eligible for replacement under federal law.
“Please note, SNAP benefits that were stolen on or after Dec. 21, 2024, are not eligible for replacement. The Federal law that allowed replacement was not extended beyond Dec. 20, 2024,” HHSC said.
McGee said she has had to rely on pantry items to get by.
“I have no milk. I got these eggs yesterday from the pantry… I have nothing,” she said.
HHSC said people who discover fraud should immediately cancel their card, change their PIN and report the fraud. But McGee and Mendoza said those steps don’t restore the food they expected to have for the month.
