Bluffton woman arrested for fraud after taking over $12K in food stamps, officials say

A Bluffton woman has been arrested for allegedly receiving over thousands in food stamp money she was not eligible for, according to the South Carolina Department of Social Services.

Marcia Marie Kidd, 45, was charged Monday morning with fraudulent acquisition or use of food stamps , receiving a felony count due to the alleged fraud exceeding $10,000. DSS agents accused her of wrongfully receiving $12,571 in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits between February 2019 and December 2021.

Kidd’s arrest warrant says she knowingly failed to report her husband’s income on six certification forms over two-and-a-half years in order to qualify for the program. SNAP eligibility is determined using a household’s annual combined income: A family of two must earn below $26,572 per year to qualify, according to the federal government’s benefits website .

The case will be prosecuted by the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, according to a Monday press release from the DSS. Under South Carolina law, the felony fraud offense is punishable by up to $5,000 in fines, 10 years in prison and a year of disqualification from future SNAP benefits.

DSS personnel noticed the suspected fraud during an observation in February 2022, according to spokesperson Danielle Jones, although Kidd’s arrest warrant would not be obtained until June 4 of this year. Kidd is the first person to be accused of food stamp fraud in Beaufort County since June 2021.

Kidd was released Tuesday afternoon from the Beaufort County jail on a personal recognizance bond, judicial records show.

A September 2023 study estimated that food stamp fraud accounts for $25 billion of SNAP’s annual $127 billion budget, with about a fifth of cases involving agents being unable to verify the composition of a household.

Reports of program fraud can be made to the DSS Office of Inspector General at dss.sc.gov/about/fraud or by calling 1-800-694-8518.

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