EBT Theft in California: WIC 10980 Penalties and Card Skimming

EBT theft in California is prosecuted two different ways depending on who did what. A recipient who lies to get benefits or trades them for cash faces charges under Welfare and Institutions Code 10980, with penalties running from six months in county jail for amounts of $950 or less up to three years in state prison for larger amounts. A thief who skims or clones someone else’s card faces identity theft and access card fraud charges instead, often stacked together. If you are the cardholder and your benefits were stolen, you have 90 days to file a Report of Electronic Theft to get them replaced.

State Penalties for Benefit Fraud Under WIC 10980

Benefit fraud covers lying about income, household size, or employment on an application, hiding assets to qualify for larger payments, continuing to collect after becoming ineligible, and trafficking — exchanging CalFresh benefits for cash or other non-food items. The dollar amount drives the penalty.

For $950 or less, the offense is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in county jail, a fine of up to $500, or both.¹

When the total exceeds $950, the offense becomes a wobbler. Prosecutors can file it as a felony carrying 16 months, two years, or three years in state prison and a fine of up to $5,000, or as a misdemeanor carrying up to one year in county jail and a fine of up to $1,000.¹ The charging decision usually hinges on the dollar amount, the defendant’s criminal history, and whether trafficking was involved.

Unauthorized use of CalFresh benefits specifically, including trafficking, follows the same split: a misdemeanor with up to six months in jail and a $500 fine when the face value is $950 or less, and a felony with 16 months to three years in state prison and up to $5,000 when it exceeds $950.¹ Courts also order restitution, requiring the defendant to repay the full amount of fraudulently obtained benefits to the state.

Charges for Skimming and Cloning EBT Cards

Someone who skims or clones an EBT card is prosecuted under different statutes, and the cardholder is treated as the victim. California’s identity theft law, Penal Code 530.5, makes it a wobbler to obtain and use another person’s identifying information for any unlawful purpose. A conviction can carry up to one year in county jail on the misdemeanor track, or a state prison sentence under Penal Code 1170(h) on the felony track.² Possessing the personal information of ten or more people with intent to defraud is also a wobbler under the same statute, which commonly applies to skimming operations that capture data from many cardholders.

Penal Code 484g treats using a stolen or counterfeit access card as theft. If the total value obtained exceeds $950 in any six-month period, the offense qualifies as grand theft.³ EBT cards count as access cards under California law, so skimming cases typically stack identity theft, access card fraud, and grand theft, each carrying its own potential prison sentence.

When Federal Charges Apply

Because CalFresh is funded through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, serious cases can also trigger federal prosecution under 7 U.S.C. 2024. Penalties scale with the amount involved:

Under $100: a misdemeanor carrying up to one year in federal prison and a fine of up to $1,000.
$100 to $4,999: a felony carrying up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 on a first conviction.
$5,000 or more: a felony carrying up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.⁴

Illegally redeeming benefits worth $100 or more carries up to five years in prison and a $20,000 fine on a first conviction.⁴ Federal prosecutors also pursue forfeiture of property involved in the offense. In practice, federal cases are reserved for organized trafficking operations and large-scale skimming rings rather than individual recipients lying about income.

Losing CalFresh Eligibility Through Administrative Disqualification

Criminal penalties are only one layer. Even without a criminal conviction, a person found to have committed an Intentional Program Violation loses eligibility under federal disqualification rules:

First violation: 12-month disqualification.
Second violation: 24-month disqualification.
Third violation: permanent disqualification.⁵

Trafficking brings harsher sanctions. Anyone convicted of trafficking SNAP benefits worth $500 or more in total is permanently disqualified on the first offense. Using benefits to buy controlled substances brings a 24-month disqualification on the first offense and permanent disqualification on the second. Exchanging benefits for firearms or ammunition results in permanent disqualification immediately.⁵

The county imposes these sanctions after an administrative hearing, and they run independently from any criminal case. A person could be acquitted in criminal court and still lose benefits through the administrative process, because the standard of proof is lower. The county also requires repayment of any misused funds whether the disqualification is temporary or permanent.

What to Do If Your Benefits Were Stolen

If your EBT card was skimmed or cloned, call the EBT customer service line or your county social services office immediately to cancel the compromised card. Then file a Report of Electronic Theft (form EBT 2259) with the county within 90 calendar days of the unauthorized transaction.⁶ Missing that deadline means you lose eligibility for replacement benefits entirely, so file as soon as you notice unauthorized charges.

For CalFresh, federal law caps replacement at the lesser of the amount actually stolen or two months of your household’s most recent monthly allotment. You can receive replacement benefits no more than twice per federal fiscal year, which runs from October 1 through September 30.⁷ Processing times vary by county, but the investigation and benefit restoration typically take several weeks after filing the EBT 2259.

California has rolled out chip-enabled EBT cards to replace the older magnetic-stripe technology that skimming devices exploit. The USDA has published national standards for EBT chip cards and requires all SNAP-authorized retailers to accept them.⁸ If your card is still a magnetic-stripe version, ask your county about replacing it with a chip card.

1
California Legislative Information. California Code WIC 10980 – Penalties
2
California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 530.5 – Identity Theft
3
California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 484g – Use of Stolen Access Card
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 7 USC 2024 – Violations and Enforcement
5
eCFR. 7 CFR 273.16 – Disqualification for Intentional Program Violation
6
California Department of Social Services. Report of Electronic Theft of Benefits – EBT 2259
7
Congress.gov. Benefit Theft Through Electronic Benefit Card Skimming
8
Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP EBT Modernization