A Georgia mother of six is facing an unimaginable crisis after thieves stole $6,000 in grocery benefits from her Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) account—leaving her unable to feed her family of eight and with no way to recover the lost funds.
Kalice Jefferson, who relies on SNAP to provide for her children, said she watched helplessly as fraudulent transactions drained her benefits in November 2024.
Despite immediately reporting the theft to the Georgia Department of Human Services (DHS), she has received no assistance in recovering the stolen funds.
“It’s been hard trying to provide my children’s next meal,” Jefferson told WSB-TV.
The fraudulent transactions, she said, occurred in New York and Pennsylvania, even though she has never been to those states.
No Relief as Federal Program Ends
The situation is worsened by the expiration of a federal relief program meant to assist SNAP recipients targeted by thieves. Under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022, states were required to replace stolen SNAP benefits—but that program expired in December 2024.
While Jefferson insists she reported the fraud before the deadline, she still hasn’t received any reimbursement. Under Georgia law, a household can only receive two replacement benefits per fiscal year. If she applies for a refund now, she will no longer be eligible.
“It’s just been very overwhelming,” Jefferson said.
New Security Measures, But No Protection
In a desperate attempt to protect her benefits, Jefferson used the Gateway EBT app, a new state-approved tool that allows SNAP recipients to lock and unlock their food stamp cards to prevent unauthorized transactions.
However, she says “thieves are still outpacing security measures. Now here I have a whole bag of groceries, I call the number, and my stamps are completely gone within seconds.”
She’s not alone. Eureka Slaughter, another Georgia mother, also had her SNAP benefits stolen in New York, despite never traveling there. The mom of two is still fighting to get back the $750 that was taken from her account.
“We’re going two months without groceries if somebody don’t help us,” Slaughter told WSB-TV.
State Offers No Solutions
With the expiration of federal funding, Georgia DHS has no plans to provide assistance to SNAP recipients who had their benefits stolen after Dec. 21, 2024.
“The state has no further recourse with the end of this federal program,” a DHS spokesperson told WSB-TV.
For struggling families like Jefferson’s and Slaughter’s, the loss is more than just money—it’s food, survival, and security.
