Louisiana Department Of Children And Family Services Targeting “Most Egregious” Food Stamps Overspenders For Disqualification

The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services has sifted through more than 12,000 transactions that were made on the day the electronic food stamps program went down, resulting in several cases of recipients intentionally overspending on their cards by as much as $2,000.

"We have been thorough and methodical in our investigation to ensure that abusers are properly disqualified," said Lindsey deBlieux, spokesperson for DCFS.

deBlieux said there were "quite a few recipients who attempted to intentionally and grossly misuse taxpayer dollars during that time by going far beyond their limit or using cards that had already closed."

So far six food stamps recipients have been disqualified from the program for a year. U.S. Sen. David Vitter expressed frustration that so few people were disqualified, but deBlieux said "it takes a little time."

"We use federal guidelines to complete these investigations and disqualifications," she said. "Those guidelines state that our clients have a chance to defend themselves. So that is just a process that takes time."

DCFS has identified at least 500 of the "most egregious--the people who spent anywhere from $300 to $2,000 in a single day," deBlieux said.

"We're looking at the worst offenders first, and then we'll move forward from there," she said.

To listen to the full interview with deBlieux, click on the 'Play' button below.