A Minnesota trio — a mother, her daughter, and another relative — were convicted in a scheme that siphoned more than $325,000 from the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (“SNAP”), and the lead defendant received a prison sentence plus restitution.
LaTasha Thomas, 39, was sentenced in United States District Court to 12 months imprisonment followed by a year of supervised release and was ordered to repay $325,159 in restitution to the United States Department of Agriculture. The sentence reflects a mail fraud conviction tied to a multi-year conspiracy. U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen announced the outcome in court filings and statements.
Prosecutors say LaTasha worked with her daughter, Ambrosia Thomas, and another relative, Cynthia Thomas, on the scheme. The conspirators allegedly coordinated to secure Electronic Benefit Transfer cards for people who did not legitimately qualify or who had falsified information. The case centered on fraudulent applications and the diversion of monthly SNAP benefits.
The defendants exploited the system by creating fake Minnesota temporary driver’s licenses with false names and photos matching the conspirators. They submitted those counterfeit documents to Hennepin County as part of applications for EBT cards. In many applications, the group falsely asserted medical limitations to increase benefit levels.
Those medical claims often included assertions that the alleged recipients were women on bedrest or otherwise limited by pregnancy, and the filings included manufactured doctor’s notes claiming “high risk pregnancy.” Investigators say the notes were fabricated specifically to boost benefit allotments. The false paperwork was central to inflating monthly SNAP deposits.
Many of the EBT cards were directed to Cynthia Thomas’s apartment in Roseville, where she resided under an alias used in the scheme. One pseudonym identified in the investigation was Sofia Gold, a name that appeared on one of the improperly obtained cards. When agents executed a search of the apartment, they found multiple pieces of mail addressed to those false names.
Law enforcement also located notes inside the building’s inner mailbox area that instructed carriers and management to deliver mail for several pseudonyms to Cynthia’s unit. That internal mailbox is accessible only to building management and postal employees, which investigators cite as evidence of organized diversion. Those details helped tie physical mail handling to the broader fraud.
The Thomases used the fraudulently obtained EBT cards to withdraw cash at ATMs and to buy goods at stores. Beyond direct withdrawals, they marketed access to the cards, letting third parties use a card for part of its monthly benefit and then return it. Customers paid the conspirators a fee, typically taking a 50-60 percent cut of the monthly allotment for the person who allowed the card’s use.
Prosecutors say that pattern of selling access and cashing out benefits led to losses in excess of $325,000 to the SNAP program. Federal agents and local fraud investigators traced transactions and card usage to establish the flow of funds. The restitution amount ordered against LaTasha reflects the theft calculations and the government’s effort to recoup taxpayer dollars.
The Department of Agriculture has made combating SNAP fraud a public priority, and USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins has publicly pushed for tougher enforcement measures. The program serves about 41 million people monthly, and officials argue that fraud undermines public trust in assistance systems. That policy focus framed federal attention on this investigation.
The case was developed through an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Hennepin County Fraud Unit. Prosecutors at the U.S. Attorney’s Office brought charges after gathering documentary and testimonial evidence. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeanne Semivan handled the prosecution in court.
From a Republican viewpoint, cases like this underline the need for strict oversight and swift consequences when public benefits are stolen. Taxpayer-funded programs require both compassion for the needy and robust controls to stop exploitation. Enforcement actions that recover funds and send offenders to prison reinforce accountability.
Legal penalties here included a year behind bars, supervised release, and a restitution order intended to make the government whole for the losses. The investigation and conviction also serve as a warning that coordinated schemes using fake IDs, forged medical documentation, and mail manipulation will attract federal scrutiny. Authorities say they remain vigilant for similar abuses and will pursue perpetrators through the courts.
