Minnesota millionaire who qualified for food stamps warns of 'fraud by design' loophole ahead of hearing
Ahead of a Tuesday hearing where Minnesota lawmakers will discuss food stamp fraud, Fox News Digital spoke to a millionaire who says he was able to qualify for food stamps...
By Fox News · Fox News
Ahead of a Tuesday hearing where Minnesota lawmakers will discuss food stamp fraud, Fox News Digital spoke to a millionaire who says he was able to qualify for food stamps through a loophole — one that he hopes will soon be closed as the state grapples with a massive fraud scandal. Rob Undersander, a retired engineer who volunteers to help seniors navigate the government benefits system, said he learned during training that eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in Minnesota was based on income only, not assets. Because his retirement income was low, he realized he could qualify even though he had significant savings and property. To test the system, Undersander applied for benefits in Stearns County in 2016 and was approved within weeks. He later said he collected thousands of dollars in SNAP benefits over more than a year, which he donated to charity, in an effort to draw attention to the issue. "I strongly support SNAP benefits for truly needy individuals, but when we have nearly one in seven Americans receiving food support in the wealthiest nation on earth, with historically low unemployment rate, something is wrong," Undersander told Fox News Digital. "One might call the current eligibility rules fraud by design. And given the current climate of fraud and abuse of taxpayer-funded benefits in Minnesota, I'm hoping that there will be a new bipartisan effort to reduce and eliminate both." BROOKE ROLLINS, ROBERT KENNEDY JR: WE’RE BRINGING FAMILIES MORE HEALTHY FOODS IN A SNAP As Minnesota continues to deal with an exploding fraud scandal that could reach into the tens of billions of dollars, Undersander will testify in front of the Minnesota House Public Safety Committee on Thursday in a hearing on a SNAP reform bill introduced by GOP state Rep. Pam Altendorf. The bill would tighten eligibility rules for food stamp benefits by requiring stricter income and asset verification before recipients can enroll in SNAP. Over the 10 years sin…