Page 269

S N A P M A N U A L

269 v. Damage to the person deceived (benefit to the wrongdoer is normally immaterial). Damage is not required to prove a violation of SC Code 16-13-430, Fraudulent Acquisition or Use of SNAP.

A determination of fraud can only be made by a criminal court. Fraud must be proven by evidence which is beyond reasonable doubt. Many claims which the Agency might believe to have been caused by fraudulent action must be processed as IPV or CL because the Agency lacks the evidence to prove the claim in court.

An individual, not a household, who intentionally violates SNAP regulations, must be disqualified from SNAP participation. Benefit Integrity Claims staff will be responsible for investigating any case of alleged IPV/FR and ensuring that appropriate cases are acted upon either through administrative disqualification hearings or court referrals. See Chapter 20 Disqualification for Intentional Program Violation.

2 3 . 4 L I A B I L I T Y F O R R E C I P I E N T C L A I M S The following individuals are responsible for paying a claim:

(A) Each person who was an adult member of the household when the overpayment or trafficking occurred. The PI may not be held "automatically" responsible for trafficking the household's benefits if there is no direct evidence identifying him/her as the guilty party. However, the PI may be held responsible when there is sufficient circumstantial evidence to show his/her complicity in the violative act. Complicity in this case means that even though the PI may not have actually conducted the transaction, upon questioning there is convincing evidence that he/she was aware of it, may have benefited, and took no actions to correct it. Complicity may be shown by establishing a clear pattern of misuse over time with the PI not providing a reasonable explanation and never reporting a loss/theft of the EBT card or benefits. (B) A sponsor of a non-citizen household if the sponsor is at fault. (C) A person connected to the household, such as an authorized representative, who causes an overpayment. This includes when a Drug Addiction or Alcoholic (DAA) treatment center or other Group Living Arrangement (GLA) acts as the authorized representative. (D) A person connected to the SNAP household, such as an authorized representative, who actually traffics. This includes when a DAA or other GLA acts as the authorized representative.