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A. Thresholds for Excessive Requests
Effective April 23, 2020, a fourth request for a replacement card for an Assistance Group within a 12 month period is considered excessive. (See 7 C.F.R. § 274.6(b)(5).)
B. Management of Excessive Requests
(1) Upon reaching the fourth (or more) request for a replacement card, the household is sent a Withhold Replacement Card Warning Notice stating that they have reached the threshold of four or more replacement cards, and that the next request for a card replacement will require contact with OFI to provide an explanation before the replacement card will be issued.
(2) Once the threshold has been exceeded (at the fifth replacement request), the EBT vendor notifies the household in writing that the threshold has been exceeded and that OFI is denying the card replacement until the household contacts OFI to provide an explanation for the replacement requests.
(a) If the household makes contact, the EBT vendor shall put the EBT card in the mail within three business days following the household contact with OFI, regardless of whether an explanation was provided. If an explanation is not provided the household is referred to the Fraud Investigation and Recovery Unity (FIRU) for investigation.
(b) If the household provides an explanation which OFI deems appropriate, OFI educates them on the proper use of the card and does not require contact upon subsequent requests, unless the pattern of card activity has changed since the initial contact and indicates possible trafficking activity. In all cases, OFI acts to protect households containing members who— are experiencing homelessness, are elderly, have disabilities, or are victims of crimes and other vulnerable persons who may lose EBT cards but are not committing fraud.
(c) If the household does not contact OFI in response to OFI’s notice, OFI does not issue a replacement card to the household and the household is referred to FIRU for investigation.
(d) If the household contacts OFI but does not explain the card losses or the explanation provided appears to be indicative of trafficking (see Section 999-1 pages 5 and 6), OFI refers the household to FIRU for investigation. OFI shall issue a replacement card to any household that makes the required contact so that the household has access to benefits in their EBT account while the investigation is underway and while awaiting a hearing (7 C.F.R. § 273.16(e)(5)). If an intentional program violation is found after investigation by FIRU, established disqualification procedures are followed in accordance with Section 777-2.
(3) The same process outlined in Paragraph 9(2)(d) is initiated prior to the threshold for excessive requests being reached if OFI has additional evidence indicating a suspected trafficking violation. (See Section 999-1 pages 5 and 6.)