Multiple state and federal entities are investigating whistleblower allegations of payment errors in Maryland’s food stamp program, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
A whistleblower said they’ve been interviewed by the Maryland Office of Legislative Audits and the Maryland Department of Human Services Office of Inspector General, and that they’ve also been contacted by a federal Office of Inspector General.
The allegations are that senior officials at the Maryland Department of Human Services were making plans to leave correctable payment errors uncorrected in order to delay $240 million in federal penalties being imposed by the Trump administration. Former DHS employees said they don’t know if the plans were implemented after they left the department late last year.
“I believe in public service,” the whistleblower told Spotlight on Maryland this week. “I believe Marylanders are not being served, vulnerable Marylanders in particular. When we try to game the system, when we play games with federal law and requirements, then hungry Marylanders will pay the price.”
The whistleblower continued, “I’ve always taken seriously public service and integrity — and at great cost to myself. I mean, I lost my job.”
Maryland Congressman Andy Harris, a Republican, said in a press release that the inspector general for the U.S. Department of Agriculture told him he would look into the whistleblower allegations for any appropriate actions, including possible criminal actions.
Harris said he’s concerned about the whistleblower’s claim of retaliation — having lost their job weeks after making disclosures to the DHS OIG, which included allegations about the SNAP program and several other matters. Harris said the person could possibly have federal whistleblower protections because SNAP is a federal program.
The whistleblower also said they’ve been contacted by the OIG for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which didn’t respond when asked whether it’s investigating.
Asked about a federal investigation, the governor’s director of communications, David Turner, asked via email, “Who is telling you there is a federal investigation?” Turner later said the office would “check” on whether they had been contacted by the USDA OIG, but did not provide further comment.
At the state level, the whistleblower said they’re in contact with the Office of Legislative Audits and the Office of Inspector General for DHS, and provided records showing their communication. The OIG didn’t respond to Spotlight’s inquiry, and OLA said they can’t disclose whether they’re investigating because they are legally required not to provide information obtained during an audit.
Democratic Gov. Wes Moore told FOX45 last weekend that the whistleblower allegations weren’t true and that there was an investigation that would be made public, but the governor’s office didn’t provide any details about that investigation when contacted by Spotlight earlier this week. Then on Wednesday, Moore’s press secretary, Ammar Moussa, told The Sun that more information would be provided on Thursday or Friday, but no information was provided by the close of business on Friday.
The whistleblower told Spotlight they never heard from the governor’s office after sending an email to the governor’s Chief of Staff Lester Davis in November, along with 18 lawmakers, detailing their concerns about the SNAP program.
Have a news tip? Contact Brooke Conrad at [email protected] or 443-578-2126, or contact the Spotlight team at [email protected] or 410-467-4670. Spotlight on Maryland is a joint venture by The Baltimore Sun, FOX45 News and WJLA in Washington, D.C.
