LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — A Lexington man claims his monthly food assistance benefits were stolen and used across the country, leaving him and his wife without funds for groceries.
Chris Horine received his monthly benefits as scheduled on Sunday, but when he went to check out at a local grocery store less than a day later, he said his benefits were declined.
"Sure enough, somebody had taken $179 off of my card, which is everything that I get," Horine said.
Horine has been a SNAP recipient for years. As he and his wife are on disability assistance, they rely on the program to buy groceries.
Now, just before the holidays, Horine believes a card skimming device stole his information, as it was used for a purchase all the way in Arizona. He's left waiting for the problem to get sorted out through the local SNAP office, which could take weeks.
"It's more than just me that this is getting done to," he said.
It's an issue garnering attention nationwide.
LEX 18 first reported on Mondayabout Mary Diaz, a Lexington woman who reported losing more than $300 in benefits.
"Me and my baby went to Walmart — she was running a fever, a little sick with the flu — to get juice and you know, hams and stuff for my dinner. When we get to the self-checkout, I scanned my card and it said declined,” Diaz said.
State data shows Kentucky has had to reimburse nearly $350,000 in claims since August. Nationwide, Scripps News reports more than $70 million has been stolen from food assistance programs.
Horine is hopeful something can be done to prevent others, especially families with children, from falling victim.
"If their EBT card gets hacked like mine did, they're not going to be able to feed the kids. I just hope that the government or somebody can get this stopped and taken care of," he said.
In the meantime, Horine has received some assistance from a local church and is relying on other donations to make it through the holidays without food benefits.
