UMVA has learned that a sprawling, sophisticated fraud network is siphoning millions of dollars in government‑funded food assistance from Lawrence, Massachusetts, and funneling it to the Dominican Republic for resale.
In the shadowed aisles of corner stores, Dominican immigrants are using SNAP cards and charity food banks to load groceries into blue shipping barrels, then dispatching the loot through New York hubs straight to Santo Domingo, where the goods reappear on bodega shelves at inflated prices.
Lawrence, a city just 30 miles north of Boston, boasts the state’s highest concentration of Dominican residents and the steepest SNAP enrollment rate, creating a perfect storm for the scheme.
John, a veteran delivery driver who crisscrosses the city eleven hours a day, described watching families queue at food banks, stuffing non‑perishables into barrels, and sealing them for overseas shipment.
“They told my wife and me outright that they were using food stamps,” John said, adding that the math proved impossible otherwise—a 50‑pound bag of rice costs $30 locally but sells for $35 in the Dominican Republic, even before shipping costs.
He guided investigators past row after row of stores displaying the conspicuous blue barrels, each bearing a sign that proudly advertises acceptance of EBT cards.
Abigail, a home‑visit worker since 2011, reported that many households keep massive boxes of donated food, then claim they are mailing it back to family or selling it in local shops abroad.
When asked if they knew the practice was illegal, she heard only quiet laughter: “They feel entitled. They think that’s why we’re here.” She estimates that roughly half of the families she sees participate in the scheme.
Because Massachusetts’ wire‑tapping laws curtailed direct surveillance, the investigation shifted to the Bronx, where a hidden‑camera operation captured Dominican shipping firms loading EBT‑purchased food into a storage facility.
From that hub, the cargo travels to Port Newark, one of the nation’s busiest container terminals, where tens of thousands of pounds of subsidized food are loaded onto vessels bound for the Dominican Republic.
In a modest Santo Domingo bodega, a shop owner confessed that his inventory arrives from New York on EBT‑funded purchases, noting that shelf prices mirror U.S. costs—only feasible if the food was obtained for free.
Another retailer revealed she sources her stock from New York churches, using a Dominican ID and an American address to collect the goods, which include Ronzoni pasta, Campbell’s chicken noodle soup, Goya beans, and Quaker oats.
The investigation uncovers a stark reality: food intended to alleviate hunger in American communities is being diverted, sold, and profited from thousands of miles away, turning a vital safety net into a lucrative black market.
