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American History

How Food Stamps Really Started

The Great Depression - Dairy
Customers were buying groceries in 1939. Russell Lee/inyourstate.

27. People Violated The Food Stamp Program Since The Beginning

Six months after Food Stamps came out, the first fraud case is recorded. 13wham.

Food stamp fraud is nothing new. It’s something that the American government and civilians are always aware of. In fact, one reason people don’t like the program is because of the people who misuse the program. However, the first person to cheat the system wasn’t a consumer. 

Nick Salzano was a retailer who decided to overcharge his customers that bought their food stamps. Once the government found out about Salzano’s wrongdoings, his story became widely published as they used him as an example of what not to do. Fortunately, most people remained honest when it came to the food stamp program through the 1940s. 

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