FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 3, 2026
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, California - In an era of tech-savvy criminal operations, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) is committed to ensuring welfare fraud is detected, prevented and prosecuted to maintain integrity in public assistance programs and protect American households, USDA Inspector General John Walk said Tuesday.
“As Inspector General, I am committed to aggressively pursuing fraud, waste, and abuse in USDA programs and operations and promoting the safety and security of the agriculture sector,” Walk said at a roundtable summit presented by the California Welfare Fraud Investigators Association (CWFIA).
At the CWFIA Roundtable, Walk highlighted USDA OIG’s commitment to working with state and local investigators to combat fraud related to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), especially as criminals expand their use of technology in a rapidly evolving digital environment.
“The purpose of SNAP is to alleviate hunger and malnutrition and improve food security among low-income American households,” Walk told the audience of California fraud investigators and other fraud prevention professionals. “SNAP fraud - and fraud in other public nutrition programs - is especially egregious because criminals steal from needy Americans and take advantage of the American taxpayers’ compassion to line their pockets.”
"I hope that this is the beginning of a collaborative exchange so that we can appropriately combine local, state, and federal resources to support our common mission of protecting taxpayer dollars and making sure that assistance does not end up in the hands of fraudsters seeking to exploit hard working taxpayers and the programs meant to serve those who legally qualify for these programs," said Walk.
USDA OIG will continue to work with other Federal law enforcement agencies and our State and local partners, as well as USDA and other stakeholders in combating public assistance fraud.
Media Contact USDA OIG
Carl (CJ) Hobbs
Congressional & Media Relations
USDA Office of Inspector General
202-720-9110
USDA IG John Walk - Prepared remarks, California Welfare Fraud Investigators Association Meeting (pdf)