Posted on 01/11/26
| News Source: FOX45
Annapolis, MD - Jan 11, 2026 - There are calls for accountability and federal oversight amid an alleged SNAP scandal at the Maryland Department of Human Services (DHS) first reported by Spotlight on Maryland.
Multiple whistleblowers told Spotlight on Maryland that two senior state officials allegedly hatched a plan to maintain a high error rate on food stamp payments, hoping to delay $240 million dollars in federal penalties.
Former employees, including a senior official at the DHS have accused two of their superiors at DHS of the plan to buy enough time for the penalties to potentially be canceled after President Donald Trump left office.
"Senior officials that work in state government should be there to protect taxpayers and do the right thing, and I'm really proud of those whistleblowers who saw a scheme going on in front of their eyes and confronted their leadership," Delegate Kathy Szeliga, a member of the Maryland Freedom Caucus, said.
The former senior official told Spotlight on Maryland they informed DHS they were going to tell the Office of Inspector General about the alleged corruption.
About a month later, they say they were placed on administrative leave and terminated; they believe as an act of retaliation.
In multiple statements to Spotlight on Maryland, neither DHS nor the governor’s office denied the allegations that there were plans to maintain a high SNAP payment error rate until Friday when Gov. Wes Moore denied the claims in a sit-down interview with FOX45 News' Mikenzie Frost.
"With the issue of SNAP funding and the whistleblower allegations that top officials within DHS were knowingly trying to keep these errors in place and potentially putting that on the backs of taxpayers, did you know that was happening?" Frost asked the governor.
Gov. Moore told Frost, "Well, no. And also, I want to be clear that that's not the case. Their whistleblower allegations are false. We have actually uncovered the fact that the allegations that were being made, those things were not happening."
Moore told Frost an investigation has been done, and the public will see the findings.
State Department of Human Services spokesperson Ben Shnider sent an email as well Friday morning after Spotlight on Maryland published its story saying, "the notion that DHS employees were directed to do anything other than continue efforts to drive down the SNAP Payment Error Rate is patently false."
However, Spotlight on Maryland did not report that DHS employees were "directed" to maintain a high SNAP payment error rate.
Shnider also said that "DHS has been implementing the SNAP provisions of H.R. 1 per federal guidelines since November 1. Contrary to allegations referenced in the piece, training on implementation is ongoing."
Whistleblowers said the accused officials allegedly discussed how they could take advantage of a loophole in H.R. 1, also known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which was signed into law in July and allows states with high error rates in the 2026 fiscal year to delay financial penalties until fiscal year 2030.
One of the accused officials “seized on that idea as something that we should pursue,” according to the former senior official. The idea was that a delay could provide enough time for the penalties to potentially be canceled after President Trump left office, or they could at least prevent repercussions on “Gov. [Wes] Moore and our current budgetary issues,” the former senior official said. The delay also could allow them to hand off the problem to a future administration, the whistleblower added.
"This is wrong. It's not just morally wrong, but in some cases it could potentially be criminally wrong and we wonder what will be enough for Governor Wes Moore to fire the secretary of human services," Del. Kathy Szeliga said.
The Maryland Freedom Caucus has issued three formal letters in response to the story. including one to Gov. Moore calling for the removal of DHS Secretary Rafael López.
They also sent a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins requesting federal oversight of Maryland’s SNAP administration and a letter to President Trump and Congressman Andy Harris informing them of the situation and the caucus’s actions.
Del. Kathy Szeliga said this is about more than politics and needs to be taken seriously.
"Something must be done to protect the public and taxpayers and make sure people in state government are not frauding [defrauding], scheming, and cooking up plans to take money away from taxpayers and programs meant to feed poor people," she said