A Michigan woman claims the state fired her from her job of 23 years for exposing a scheme to steal money from the state’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. According to a court complaint, Ashanta Butler said she was fired after alerting her superiors to the scam.
Court complaint
Butler filed suit last month in the Eastern District of Michigan. The complaint says Butler was a good employee with no history of significant discipline.
The complaint states that Butler became aware of a scheme by her coworkers to steal taxpayer-funded food benefits, more commonly known as food stamps.
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Butler then took that information to her manager. The complaint accuses the manager of being one of the state employees who took advantage of the program.
The complaint also accuses a human resources worker of misconduct.
The complaint claims that an HR director in April 2024 told Butler that “your kind is not welcome in Macomb County,” which the plaintiff took as a racially charged statement. Butler is Black.
Butler was fired the next day. During the termination, Butler alleges the HR director also told her she was “blackballed in Lansing” and would never work in Macomb County again.
The Michigan Department of Health & Human Services has not publicly commented.
Michigan food stamp scam
It’s unclear if law enforcement is currently investigating Butler’s claims of what was happening in her department. However, a report from Michigan Capitol Confidential shows food stamp fraud spiked in the state by 400% from 2023-2024.
A separate report showed Michigan families lost $846,000 in stolen benefits so far this fiscal year. According to that report, part of the issue is how the state physically distributes these benefits. Michigan uses card technology, but still uses magnetic strips instead of more secure chips.
Criminals can install fake card readers to easily obtain card information from those strips.
In November 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) urged Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the state health department to stop using those cards.
US food stamp issues
The issue in Michigan is just part of a nationwide issue with food stamps. Nearly three dozen states have filed a lawsuit against the USDA, claiming the department is putting sensitive information at risk, among other things, in its effort to root out fraud, waste and abuse.
Replacing stolen benefits cost the federal government $102 million in the first quarter of 2025 alone.
The states are concerned that the USDA may be allowing other agencies to access the data required by SNAP benefits. Michigan is one of the states that joined the lawsuit.
SNAP benefits are also getting some changes in other states. Twelve officially adopted waivers from the USDA to restrict what kind of foods can be purchased using the benefits. Those waivers will go into effect next year.
