Division leaders told the joint subcommittee that attempts at fraud affecting SNAP, Medicaid and other benefits have increased and that new technology — including AI‑generated documents — is contributing to that trend. Robert Thompson, division administrator, said the agency is requesting additional investigative staff and supervisory positions to keep pace.

Thompson described examples of modern fraud methods and explained the division’s response: “We are even seeing people that are using AI to create, incorrect paycheck stubs or, identification,” he said. He added that investigators use data analytics and field work — “they go out and meet with landlords. They'll go out to hospitals and pull medical records”—to substantiate cases and calculate future savings from closed cases.

Staff described the investigative process and sanctions. When overpayments are found, the division pursues administrative overpayments, hearings and recoveries; intentional program violations can lead to disqualification periods (one year up to lifetime) and, in some cases, federal or state prosecution. Thompson said the agency has worked with the FBI and U.S. Secret Service in targeted investigations of vendor trafficking and other schemes.

On staffing, the division requested additional compliance investigators and one supervisor in budget account 3233, and a management analyst in the fraud unit in another account. Deputy Marnie Whelan said an investigator typically carries about 20 active investigations at a time; adding six investigators would allow roughly 20 additional active investigations per investigator assigned but would not eliminate aged or unassigned cases entirely. Whelan said the added capacity would let the unit focus on priority cases.

Members asked whether federal partners have imposed corrective actions for any backlog; Whelan said no corrective action has been imposed. Committee members also pressed for follow‑up detail on AI’s impact and on the division’s ability to quantify savings from fraud recoupment. Thompson said staff will provide supplemental information to members.