Law & Principles

Among states that have reported data, Oklahoma leads the nation in food-stamp fraud

December 5, 2025

Ray Carter

In February, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins initiated a review of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), better known as “food stamps,” directing states to share data on recipients.

So far, only 28 states and one territory, mostly Republican-led, have complied. But the data collected so far, recently shared with Fox News, indicate that Oklahoma has more food-stamp fraud than any other state on a per-capita basis.

Nationwide, Rollins said her agency has identified 186,000 dead people receiving benefits and 356,000 duplicate enrollments, meaning people are receiving food-stamp benefits in more than one state.

In the local region, most states have relatively little food-stamp fraud.

In Arkansas, officials identified 1,172 instances of stolen food-stamp benefits. In Missouri, there are 595 cases. In Kansas, officials found only 64 instances, and in Missouri, just 67. In Colorado, officials have identified 2,702 cases. In Louisiana, officials identified 1,454 instances of stolen benefits.

But in Oklahoma, there were 20,742 incidents. Texas, which has a total population that is more than seven times greater than Oklahoma’s population, nonetheless has far fewer instances of stolen food-stamp benefits—just 13,067.

Chuck DeVore, chief national initiatives officer with the Texas Public Policy Foundation, noted on X, “Oklahoma’s fraud rate is about 12 times that of Texas’.”

On a per-capita basis, DeVore noted that Oklahoma has 5.116 instances of food-stamp fraud per 1,000 residents, the highest rate in the nation among states that have reported data.

In contrast, Texas ranked 23rd on a per-capita basis.

“Since the food stamp program is basically a pass-through with states only having to pay half of the costs to administer the program, there’s a lot of temptation to cut corners as the money then flows into the state,” DeVore wrote.

The amount of fraud in Oklahoma’s food-stamp program could have a significant negative impact on state finances.

Under the newly passed federal “One, Big, Beautiful Bill,” Oklahoma will be responsible for covering a share of food-stamp benefits based on the state’s payment error rate starting in FY 2028.

A Sept. 26, 2024, report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office noted that the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported most states made improper payments related to SNAP “mainly because they did not verify recipients’ eligibility for program benefits.”

The report noted that states failed to determine if recipients were U.S. citizens or lawfully present immigrants, and also failed to confirm recipients’ employment status, finances, and household size, among other things.

The Government Accountability Office report estimated that 10.64 percent of SNAP payments in Oklahoma went to unqualified individuals in 2023. All states in the region, aside from New Mexico, had lower error rates.

The Foundation for Government Accountability estimates that Oklahoma’s error rate in FY2024 was slightly higher, reaching 10.87 percent. That would translate into an increased state cost of nearly $226 million annually in penalties under the new federal law.

If Oklahoma’s payment error rate were reduced to less than 6 percent, however, no penalty would be imposed.

Oklahoma may not remain the state with the highest rate of food-stamp fraud per capita, since federal officials are working to force the more than 30 non-reporting states to share their data. States that do not report data could lose federal funding for the program.

“NO DATA, NO MONEY—it’s that simple,” Rollins wrote on X. “If a state won’t share data on criminal use of SNAP benefits, it won’t get a dollar of federal SNAP administrative funding. Let’s see which states stand for accountability and which are just protecting their bribery schemes.”

Trump administration officials have vowed to crack down on abuse of the food-stamp program, noting that fraud ultimately harms the hardworking families who pay taxes to fund the program.

“We’re calling out what too many politicians and advocates are afraid to say out loud: SNAP fraud is real, it’s pervasive, and hardworking Americans are the ones stuck paying for it! And we have the receipts…” Rollins wrote. “While millions play by the rules, many have learned to game the system—skirting work requirements, stealing benefits, trading cards for cash, and draining resources meant for the most vulnerable among us. Every dollar lost to fraud is a dollar taken straight from the pocket of an American taxpayer. No hardworking family should be forced to subsidize the lifestyle of bad actors and criminals.”