Amir Samarghandi, and Brett Milam

Cincinnati

Update, July 6, 3:45 p.m.: Ohio Auditor Dave Yost testified before the House Committee on Agriculture Wednesday less than a week after reporting questionable costs in Ohio's food stamp program.

Yost's $48,000 audit last week revealed $31,000 in questionable costs — $124 dollars in question per every $1 million spent of the $2.5 billion food stamps program's total cost — according to the Associated Press.

"The main goal of the audit was not to find cases of fraud, but to search for structural weaknesses in the program that heightened risk," Yost said in his opening remarks Wednesday. "Our findings lead me to conclude that there are likely millions of dollars of fraud in Ohio's $2.5 billion program."

Fraud and poor management undermine public support for this program, Yost said.

"In conclusion, I do not believe that fraud is rampant in Ohio, but it does exist and it is significant," Yost said. "Food stamp fraud hardens the hearts of good people and deafens their ears to the sounds of hunger."

For those who hunger and those who pay the bill, we owe a greater effort toward integrity, Yost added.

Rep. Frank Lucas said Wednesday the stories of benefits being used in Texas, Florida and other states stirs up the public and makes it more difficult to provide assistance to fellow citizens during.

"The numbers we're seeing raise questions about the integrity of the administration," Yost said. "Obviously, if you're living in Florida, you shouldn't be getting your EBT card out of Ohio."

The full hearing can be viewed below.

Previous report: Dead people, duplicates and out-of-state purchases were just some of the fraudulent activities discovered in an audit of Ohio's food stamp program, according to State Auditor Dave Yost.

Yost's audit of Ohio’s $2.5 billion Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) released Tuesday found weaknesses — including $24,406 for dead recipients, $28.7 million in out-of-state spending and over 150,000 duplicate recipients.

“The problems we found are very concerning, and clearly suggest there is fraud occurring in this program,” Yost said in a news release. "We were pleased to discover a pilot program has recently begun that should help address some of these vulnerabilities.”

SNAP is administered in Ohio by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, which issued food stamp benefits to 824,231 recipients and their families in 2015. State auditors examined transactions occurring during the first six months of 2015, looking for weaknesses and anomalies in the system that indicate fraud, the release said.

Despite being dead for more than a year, auditors found 36 instances where recipients had been issued $24,406 in benefits, with $13,598 being spent in nine cases. The examination did not explore mid-year deaths, meaning anyone who had been issued benefits less than a year after their death would not be discovered.

“There needs to be tighter controls over these dollars. The death benefit comparison needs to be made quarterly to safeguard our money,” Yost said in the news release.

More than $28.7 million in SNAP funds were spent outside of Ohio by 118,316 recipients. Auditors said that excessive use of the cards out of state could indicate either the recipient does not live in Ohio, is receiving benefits in more than one state, or is selling their card and benefits. In analyzing the data, auditors eliminated transactions occurring in border states and identified the 10 states with the most activity, according to the auditor's press release.

The most activity occurred in Florida, where 9,174 recipients spent $2.1 million, with most being used in Orlando ($119,130) and Jacksonville ($104,091). Georgia was second, followed by Minnesota, Texas and Tennessee. Substantial spending in another state, auditors said, suggests there are risk factors that warrant further investigation.

Additionally, auditors discovered unusual card activity at corner stores where an entire month’s benefits were spent in a single transaction as well as a pattern of even-dollar transactions that are not typical of normal shopping patterns, the release said.

Certain retailers and recipients of food stamp funding were flagged for being used multiple times. Some 151,360 recipients were identified on multiple reports; four were flagged on all seven reports; 114 were flagged on six reports; 1,091 were flagged on five. Of the retailers, 37 were flagged on five of the reports, and 1,412 were flagged on four, according to the auditor's data.

The maximum a recipient can receive per month is $1,169,which is for a family of eight. Auditors discovered 173 recipients had balances on their cards greater than $5,000, including one with a balance of $20,610. They collectively had balances worth more than $1.2 million, according to the report.

For a full copy of the report, click or tap here.