Deadline extended for reimbursement on stolen SNAP funds

Jonathan Fjeld | KOB

SANTA FE, N.M. — If you get food assistance through the federal SNAP program, but have had funds stolen or skimmed, the deadline has been extended to get reimbursed.

The deadline was Sept. 30. Now, it’s Dec. 20. Anyone who had their benefits electronically stolen or skimmed will no longer be eligible for federal reimbursement after Dec. 20. That is because federal assistance to reimbursement affected people will expire at that point.

In late-2022, Congress passed a law to protect and replace SNAP benefits stolen through card skimming, cloning and other methods. The law required all states to replace benefits stolen between Oct. 1, 2022, and Sept. 30, 2024. Then, last week, Congress passed a Continuing Resolution moving that deadline from Sept. 30 to Dec. 20.

With that end date coming, the New Mexico Health Care Authority’s Income Support Division will no longer receive federal funding to help replace stolen benefits.

Going forward, the HCA is encouraging people to check their account balance, review past purchases and file any claims by the appropriate time. If you’re going to submit a benefit replacement request, you must do it within 30 days of when you discover the theft.

If you have a theft that occurs on or after Dec. 21, it won’t be eligible for reimbursement.

SNAP skimming and theft was an issue last summer, targeting particular stores and affecting hundreds of households shopping there. One household even lost around $12,717 due to this.

You can report issues with skimming, cloning and phishing to HCA these ways:

You can also report fraud to local law enforcement.