'They took everything': Thieves steal benefits meant for Pueblo County residents in need

Just as refunds started coming in for victims of last month's well-coordinated hacking attack that siphoned Department of Human Services funds meant for those in need, a new rash of thefts has been reported in Pueblo County.

Pueblo County DHS Director Tammy Torres recently confirmed as of Wednesday, July 3, that 98 reports of benefit theft have occurred within three days of issuance.

One of the victims was Rye resident Missi Franklin who told the Chieftain she lost $563.50 in benefits when an ATM withdrawal was made at a Denver bank at 1:36 a.m. July 1.

"I am freaking out — they took everything," Franklin said. "I have two little ones to provide for and this is very damaging."

Franklin said she was aware her former classmate Amanda Welty-Soto had lost $540 of her Temporary Assistance for Needy Family (TANF) funding when it was stolen at 2:45 a.m. June 2 from a Wells Fargo bank ATM in Denver. Because she did not experience the theft in June, Franklin said, "I did not think it could happen to me and it turns out I wasn't safe."

In both women's cases, the funds were taken shortly after they had been deposited at midnight.

"This is really bad — I had to borrow money from my parents to get gas so I could get to the Pueblo office to report the theft. A lot of people don't have that resource," Franklin explained.

How the thefts started

On June 2, hackers started emptying out accounts of Pueblo County benefit recipients. By the time the dust had settled, 384 cases of theft were reported to Pueblo County DHS officials totaling $178,678, Torres said.

Benefit recipients receiving adult financial payments, others receiving TANF Colorado Works funding and food benefit customers getting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits all were affected.

As victims report theft by filing affidavits at the human services office at 320 W. 10th St., Pueblo County personnel check the affidavit and then forward it to Colorado DHS within 10 business days. The county also works to replace victim's electronic benefit cards.

The state then reviews the affidavits, researches the fraud for eligibility and provides a response to the county within 10 days.

"The state is about four days behind on reviewing Pueblo’s cases because they are reviewing cases from around the state in the order they receive them," Torres explained. "We were also told on June 26 that the county could issue the financial benefit prior to getting the approval from the state, therefore we started reimbursing the financial benefit on Friday (June 28)."

Soto received her reimbursement Saturday, June 29, nearly a full month after the funds had been stolen.

"We have reimbursed all Colorado Works/TANF cases and are working on the rest of the Adult Financial cases. As of Friday, we received three approval affidavits back from the state and we are expecting 308 more in the upcoming days," Torres told the Chieftain.

Torres said the investigation is spread out among law enforcement agencies where the thefts occurred. The thefts have taken place in the Denver metro area, Chicago and other out-of-state jurisdictions.

"We have not been updated regarding the identification of the theft fraudsters," Torres said.

One woman's fight

The thefts have sparked an activist in Soto, who is going to college in Pueblo to prepare for a career as a paralegal. She is pushing for investigation and change and reaching out to any agency that can help, including the Colorado Attorney General's Office and the nonprofit Hunger Free Colorado.

"I propose a thorough review and regulation of the access permissions within the Department of Human Services," she told the Chieftain. "I recommend a proactive approach by advocating for all clients to obtain new cards."

She said she believes the current security breach may be due to compromised card information which is enabling unauthorized withdrawals, so issuing new cards could disrupt the fraud.

She also is pushing for clear, transparent communication from the department as she and other victims did not receive updated emails or phone calls detailing what was happening with their cases.

Tips to avoid fraud

Pueblo County DHS encourages customers to add a layer of protection by downloading the ebtEDGE application on their smartphones.

There are some safety features available on that app that allow the customer to add additional layers of protection such as the “freeze card function,” which would allow the customer to “freeze” the card when it is not in use, thus not allowing anyone else to use it either.

There is also a “protect my account” tab that allows the customer to block internet and out-of-state transactions, the department advises.

Chieftain reporter Tracy Harmon covers business news. She can be reached by email at tharmon@chieftain.com or via X, formerly Twitter, at twitter.com/tracywumps. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.