A fraud and theft scheme involving stolen food benefit accounts has led to numerous arrests and a large seizure of baby formula and other products.
The United States Attorney’s Office of Oregon announced the arrests in this week. The news release is available here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-or/pr/17-people-indicted-conspiring-steal-more-24-million-snap-benefits .
The Portland Police Bureau’s involvement began in February 2024, when a detective learned from some retail partners that large quantities of baby formula were being purchased using SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits cards. The retailers were concerned that the cards were potentially being used fraudulently, victimizing vulnerable community members who rely on those benefits to feed themselves and their families.
The detective began investigating and learned of the broader, organized fraud scheme. When he reached out to partners from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General (USDAOIG) and the United States Attorney’s Office, he learned that they were also engaged in a parallel investigation. They joined forces to expand the investigation. PPB members, along with investigators from the Department of Justice, Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, Gresham Police Department, and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, executed multiple search warrants throughout the metro area. They located and seized from one storage unit 7,190 cans of formula (photo). Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of illegally obtained infant formula, evidence consistent with credit card device skimming, large amounts of cash, and gold have been recovered.
“Our role in this case started with the initiative and extensive follow-up by one of our detectives,” said Portland Police Bureau Chief Bob Day. “He then reached out to our federal District of Oregon partners, and as the investigation grew, more resources were brought in to assist. It soon became very apparent how many people were criminally involved and the wide scope of this investigation. This indictment ultimately was the result of an exhaustive amount of investigative work by our detective and federal authorities and I commend everyone involved for their dedication to this important case.”
The information was developed due to partnerships that have developed over a long time between the Portland Police Bureau and investigators representing local grocery retailers, the Northwest Grocers Association, and the Organized Retail Crime Association. The long hours and professionalism from the Safeway/Albertsons and Fred Meyer/Kroger investigators were critical to the case. These investigators are leads in their respective organizations and heavily involved in retail crime committees in the northwest. PPB is grateful for their partnership.
Photo description:
Pallets of baby formula wrapped in blue plastic shipping wrap inside a storage unit
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