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Page | 296 18220 DETERMINING THE AMOUNT OF AN INTENTIONAL PROGRAM VIOLATION (IPV) CLAIM

A. If an SPV is reclassified to an IPV, DSS will determine to amount of the IPV claim against the household equal to the difference between the allotment the household received each month and the allotment the household should have received using the correct allotments and eligibility factors in effect at that time.

B. The earned income deduction is not allowed in the claim calculation process for earned income.

C. When the amount of the claim is established, it will be necessary to determine if there are any benefits due the household which have not been restored in accordance with procedures under "Restoration of Benefits". If so, any benefits due the household will be subtracted from the amount of the claim. DSS will initiate collection action for the remainder, if any.

D. The amount of benefits misused because of trafficking is determined by ORFI. In most cases, ORFI receives a report from the Office of Inspector General (OIG) or FNS and determines the amount trafficked based on the individual’s admission, adjudication, or the trafficking document.

18300 INTENTIONAL PROGRAM VIOLATION (IPV) PROCESS FOR HEARINGS/WAIVERS/COURT DECISIONS

ORFI will reclassify a Suspected Program Violation (SPV) claim to an Intentional Program Violation (IPV) claim only if:  An administrative disqualification hearing or a court of appropriate jurisdiction has found a household member committed intentional program violation  An individual is disqualified as a result of signing either a waiver or his/her disqualification hearing or a disqualification consent agreement in cases referred for prosecution.

Federal regulations require States to penalize individuals for trafficking benefits through the Intentional Program Violation procedures. Trafficking is defined as “the means of buying, selling, attempting to buy or sell, stealing, or otherwise effecting an exchange of SNAP benefits issued and accessed via Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards, card numbers and personal identification numbers (PINs), or by manual voucher and signature, for cash or consideration other than eligible food, either directly, indirectly, on-line or in person, in complicity or collusion with others, or acting alone”. The Office of Recoveries and Fraud Investigations (ORFI) is responsible for investigating and calculating trafficking violations.

18301 REFERRAL PROCESS/RESPONSIBILITY

The Office of Recoveries & Fraud Investigations (ORFI) reviews all SPV requests to determine if the case should be referred for administrative disqualification proceedings or prosecution action. ORFI may do any or all of the following: 1. Provide an opportunity for the accused individual to sign a disqualification hearing waiver 2. Forward the case to the Department’s administrative hearings section 3. Investigate further and refer to legal staff for prosecution. NOTE: Retroactive benefits and current benefits can never be reduced to offset a claim.