A retired woman from Chicago will be punished for “busting” food stamps in 80's

Фото: Depositphotos

Illinois social services require a 70-year-old Chicago resident named Annie to pay the state $ 741 because, according to them, in the period from 1983 to 1985, she received more food stamps than she was entitled to.

If a woman does not pay, the state threatens to transfer its debt to the US Department of the Treasury to withhold this money from any federal payments it receives, including social security, reports Chicago Sun Times.

Despite the fact that 32 has passed since the incident, the statute of limitations, according to the representative of the Illinois State Social Service, Megan Powers, there is no such action.

Powers explained that the state is authorized by federal law to withdraw from consumers any overpayments for the Supplemental Nutrition Supplement Program (SNAP), which issued food stamps. The same applies to the Temporary Allowance for Needy Families (TANF) program.

According to her, there are no time limits when debts can be collected, moreover, the state welfare department has no right to forgive old debts.

Annie acknowledged getting food stamps during those years when, according to her, she didn’t work and raised a teenage daughter. But she does not agree that she received more coupons than she had the right to.

Annie said that in the middle of the 80s, she arranged her life, got a job, and has not used food stamps since. She is now retired, and she would not want to lose part of social security due to her imputed debt.

According to lawyers, the “busting” of coupons may be related to the fact that a person receiving assistance during the period of use of coupons received income exceeding the limit for providing assistance.

The Alliance for Public Service, which is interested in such cases, noted that Americans receive similar demands to pay off their debt for food stamps issued decades ago quite often. The organization believes that it is unfair to demand money from a person for a state mistake.

Despite the fact that Annie is confident in her innocence, she tried to settle the dispute with the state by paying 300 dollars as a down payment.

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