When asked in 1930s why he robbed banks, the famous criminal Willie Sutton is said to have replied, “Because that’s where the money is.” Today, Mr. Sutton might just as well have said the same thing about government welfare programs.
Fraud against the taxpayers has been in the news lately, particularly in Minnesota involving questionable social service spending. But the problem is much more widespread than just one state and reflects the rapid growth of public safety net programs at both the state and local levels. When the government hands out taxpayer benefits, criminals aren’t far behind — consider that Washington doled out an estimated $300 billion in fraudulent payments under the guise of emergency pandemic relief.
Nevada isn’t immune, of course. Last week, authorities arrested a Las Vegas woman for her involvement in a “large-scale fraud scheme” involving food stamps, also known as SNAP benefits. The suspect was booked on a number of charges, including theft of more than $100,000, fraudulent transactions and identity fraud.
Gov. Joe Lombardo’s office announced that alert caseworkers at the Nevada Division Social Services noticed several suspicious items related to the suspect. Investigators with the Nevada State Police Parole and Probation Division later discovered evidence of wrongdoing when they went to the woman’s home last June, according to a news release.
“Investigators soon learned that Lay allegedly set up a fictitious business in the Las Vegas valley and used it to collect fraudulent Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits beginning in January 2025,” KSNV-TV, Channel 3 reported last week. “There is also evidence of potential fraud connected to Medicaid enrollment.”
Gov. Lombardo noted in a statement that the fraud involved a “level of criminal sophistication.”
The suspect, identified as Mychelle Lay, deserves the presumption of innocence, of course. If found guilty, however, she deserves to face the full force of the law. Kudos to those state workers who rose to the occasion to flag unusual activity and saved state and federal taxpayers many thousands of dollars.
Ensuring that billions in social service benefits help those who truly need it rather than lining the pockets of fraudsters and ne’er do wells is simple common sense. Yet congressional Republicans have caught flak of late from their Democratic counterparts over legislation tightening eligibility requirements for Medicaid and SNAP and providing financial incentives for states to identify criminal activity. The arrest of Ms. Lay highlights the importance of those efforts. Even Willie Sutton might agree.
