Oregon Residents Indicted for Selling Baby Formula Bought with Stolen SNAP Cards on California Black Market

19 people from Portland and Gresham have been indicted on charges involving the theft of $500,000 from SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits cards across the US.

The group purchased baby formula and stored it in Oregon and Washington before selling it on the black market in California.

SNAP Scam Suspects Charged In Oregon

Initially, a Portland Police detective heard from retail partners that large quantities of baby formula were being bought using SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits cards.

The retailers suspected the cards were being used fraudulently and that the scam victimized vulnerable community members who rely on SNAP benefits to feed themselves and their families. The scammers used several stores in their scheme, including Fred Meyer, Safeway, and Winco.

Federal investigators and the Oregon Department of Justice (ODOJ) launched investigations. According to Oregon DOJ investigators with the Criminal Justice Division, suspects used skimming devices and stolen Electric Benefits Transfer (EBT) accounts to buy baby formula in the SNAP scam.

Significant quantities- valued at $500k, were then stored in storage units and properties in Oregon and Washington before being repackaged and shipped to California, where it was sold on the black market. Fred Meyer provided most of the surveillance video, which helped investigators identify the suspects.

Oregon’s Attorney General, Dan Rayfield, said yesterday that the SNAP scam “isn’t just theft – it is an assault on our most vulnerable communities.”

In October last year, federal investigators arrested 17 people for their roles in buying, storing, and shipping the formula.

Some of the suspects were named in the federal indictments last year. The 19 people now indicted in ODOJ’s case lived in apartments in the Portland and Gresham areas and are all loosely connected to each other.

The grand jury indicted the group on charges of money laundering, theft, aggravated theft, identity theft, and aggravated identity theft but are innocent until proven guilty. The suspects will be arraigned after being arrested on the outstanding warrants.