Minnesota Social Services Oversight

Federal prosecutors say 39‑year‑old Latasha Thomas of Minnesota has been sentenced to one year in prison and ordered to pay $325,159 in restitution after a jury convicted her of mail fraud for a two‑year scheme that stole Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Thomas, her daughter Ambrosia and relative Cynthia Thomas created fake Minnesota temporary driver’s licenses with false names but their own photos, used those IDs to apply for Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards in Hennepin County, and repeatedly claimed to be women on 'high‑risk' bedrest pregnancies, backed by falsified doctor’s notes, to inflate benefits. The state mailed the EBT cards to Cynthia Thomas’s Roseville apartment, where investigators later found mail addressed to numerous pseudonyms and internal mailbox notes directing carriers to deliver to her unit; the conspirators then withdrew cash from ATMs, spent the funds, and sold access to the cards to others for a 50–60% cut of each month’s allotment. Cynthia Thomas was previously convicted of mail‑fraud conspiracy and received a three‑year probation sentence in December, while Ambrosia Thomas has agreed to plead guilty to mail fraud and is awaiting sentencing. The case comes amid heightened scrutiny of Minnesota’s social‑services oversight and feeds into a national debate over how easily large‑dollar frauds can be carried out against federal nutrition and welfare programs.