Fraud Cleanup: Nearly 200,000 Dead People Received Food Stamps

President Trump’s initiative to clean up executive agency databases is making tremendous progress. SNAP has found nearly 200,000 dead people receiving benefits; Social Security corrected the records of 50 million people; and Treasury found potential fraud in student aid programs amounting to $270 million. A million here, a million there, and soon you have a lot of money.

SNAP

There were 200,000 dead people getting food stamps. Another 189,000 people were illegally enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid.

.@derrickvanorden: “There was almost 200,000 dead people getting SNAP benefits. 189,000 people were dual enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid, that’s illegal…They don’t want to report this because they’re getting your taxpayer dollars. That’s called fraud.” https://t.co/psexsavA1P

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 20, 2026

It looks like they are just giving SNAP away to everyone now.

🚨 BREAKING: Wisconsin residents are receiving Minnesota SNAP cards they never applied for.

“Why are you sending SNAP food benefits, to someone who lives in a different state.”

Good job, Democrats. https://t.co/RACFAjj3qI

— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) October 20, 2026

SSN

The Social Security Administration told Fox News it has undertaken its largest Social Security Number cleanup in the agency’s 91-year history. They corrected nearly 15% of all U.S. citizen SSNs (roughly 50 million of 330 million).

The changes include:

• Added 17 million dates of death to files that previously lacked them. The State Department helped.
• With help from DHS, the department updated 25 million files that had missing citizenship information. –
• Corrected an additional 8.5 million records with inaccurate citizenship data.

Agencies across the federal government and states reference SSNs to validate identities and prevent improper payment of tax dollars. Accurate records are critical to preventing fraud.

The initiative was designed to modernize outdated bookkeeping, validate identities, and safeguard against potential fraud. At least for now, the goal is not to report a loss of funds. Acting commissioner Lee Dudek clarified that those individuals were listed in historical databases without a death date. The individuals did not necessarily receive benefits.

SSA officials did not say Tuesday whether the corrective measures stopped or reversed any improper payments.

Treasury Department Fraud

Today, Treasury announced it identified about $270 million in suspicious financial activity potentially linked to fraud against federal student aid programs. FinCEN has referred these findings to federal investigators to pursue potential fraud schemes targeting federal student aid programs and help ensure those responsible are held accountable. These referrals underscore the Trump Administration’s commitment to eliminating fraud, protecting taxpayers, and safeguarding the integrity of federal student aid programs.

 

Image: Jakub Zerdzicki Unsplash