U.S. farmers convicted of fraud still got Trump bailout money
WASHINGTON ― Some farmers who received payments from President Donald Trump’s farm bailout program had previously been convicted or accused of fraudulently obtaining federal agriculture subsidies.
The Environmental Working Group’s farm subsidy database, which it compiles annually from formal records requests to the USDA, shows at least three farmers accused — and in two cases, convicted — of fraud among the 600,000 who received payments from the Market Facilitation Program, otherwise known as Trump’s farm bailout.
But the USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps, may have stricter and more elaborate penalties for fraud than the agency’s various agriculture subsidy programs. If the agency catches someone misrepresenting their economic circumstances in order to win food benefits, they’re banned for a year. Repeat offenses or a felony conviction result in a lifetime ban.
Carr described the trade assistance as a vote-buying program for the president. Most farmers still support Trump, despite the trade war cutting into their already-shrunken incomes. Meanwhile, the richest 10% of farms received more than half of the bailout funds, according to EWG. Last week, Democrats said the Government Accountability Office, an investigative arm of Congress, would look into their complaints about the farm assistance program. While that investigation isn’t necessarily looking at whether bailout beneficiaries committed fraud in the past, Sen. Debbie Stabenow , said it seemed inappropriate.
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