Amid a recent wave of electronic benefit thefts targeting recipients in Lakewood and around the state, state officials say federal rules prohibit the state from reimbursing victims, leaving some families without food assistance after many recipients reported their benefits stolen over the last few days.

During a budget hearing in Trenton this afternoon, state Senator John Burzichelli questioned New Jersey Department of Human Services Commissioner Dr. Stephen Cha about the growing number of reports involving stolen SNAP funds.

“We were allowed in the past to replace skimmed benefits, but we are no longer allowed to do that per federal guidance,” Cha said during the exchange, adding that beneficiaries are now being urged to lock their SNAP cards when not in use as officials attempt to combat increasingly sophisticated fraud schemes.

Burzichelli pressed the commissioner on the impact to victims, noting that some recipients who discover their benefits have been stolen are effectively left without assistance until the following month.

“In the past, if a person found that their money was skimmed, that was replaced,” Burzichelli said. “Now the person is just told, ‘Look, you have to handle the card a different way,’ and you won’t see money till next month.”

“That’s correct,” Cha responded, adding that the state is required to comply with federal policy.

The discussion comes amid mounting complaints from SNAP recipients across New Jersey who say thieves drained their accounts through card-skimming schemes, often shortly after monthly benefits were deposited. According to reports, county welfare offices in ocean County and around the state have recently been inundated with complaints from residents discovering their balances had been wiped out before they could make purchases.

Cha also said the state is now moving toward implementing more secure SNAP chip cards in an effort to reduce fraud. Cha said only two states have successfully rolled out the technology so far, but New Jersey hopes to implement the cards before the end of the year.

“This is a very common-sense step forward in the face of ongoing fraud,” Cha said. “Once we’re on those new SNAP chip cards, I am confident that some of these fraud cases will be much, much harder.”

Cha noted that the transition requires not only state readiness, but also retailers to update systems capable of processing the new cards.

Although SNAP is federally funded, Cha said New Jersey is receiving federal matching funds to help cover the cost of transitioning to chip-enabled cards.

Still, he emphasized that even if additional state legislation addressing the thefts were enacted, New Jersey currently lacks the authority to replace stolen benefits under existing federal policy.