SNAP EBT Skimming in NY: Lawsuit, Chip Cards, and Replacement

In June 2025, Legal Services NYC filed a federal lawsuit against New York State over its failure to replace magnetic-stripe EBT cards with chip-enabled cards, a delay the complaint links to hundreds of thousands of dollars in SNAP benefits stolen through skimming. The SNAP EBT skimming lawsuit in New York, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against the state’s Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA), asks the court to order the chip card transition and to compensate victims whose stolen benefits were never replaced.¹

What the Lawsuit Claims

The complaint makes two core arguments. It alleges that New York violated federal law by failing to adopt evolving technology to protect SNAP recipients against fraud and to ensure the timely, secure delivery of benefits. It also argues the state left victims without meaningful recourse after the federal reimbursement program expired in December 2024, because New York had no state-level mechanism in place to replace stolen benefits.¹

The plaintiffs are asking the court for three things: an order compelling OTDA to transition to chip-enabled EBT cards, compensation for unreimbursed stolen benefits, and damages for the financial and emotional hardship victims suffered.²

The scale cited in the filing is substantial. Between 2023 and 2024, New York accounted for roughly 85,000 skimming cases totaling nearly $40 million, close to 20 percent of the national total.¹ Other reporting puts the figure at least $51 million in SNAP benefits stolen in New York between 2023 and 2025, with more than 150,000 reported thefts since mid-2023.³ Advocates say the real total is almost certainly higher, because many victims never realize their benefits are missing or do not know how to file a claim.⁴

Who Filed the Suit and Who the Plaintiffs Are

Legal Services NYC filed the case on June 12, 2025, on behalf of seven individual SNAP recipients and one advocacy organization, Red de Pueblos Trasnacionales, a New York City-based migrant-rights nonprofit.¹ The named plaintiffs include Anna Gelman, a 90-year-old Brooklyn resident, and Yiraldy Rodriguez, a Bronx resident, along with others described in the filing as an 86-year-old Manhattan woman, a Bronx mother of two, and a Bronx resident in poor health.²

The defendant is OTDA, the state agency that administers SNAP in New York. OTDA has declined to comment on the pending litigation.²

Why New York Hasn’t Switched to Chip Cards

Internal OTDA emails obtained by NY Focus show the agency had been discussing chip cards since at least 2022. In December 2024, an OTDA staffer described the effort as “full steam ahead” but cited procurement hurdles and suggested a goal of spring 2026 for potential progress. At a 2023 contract proceeding, OTDA itself argued that the agency “does not possess the resources or expertise to develop a new chip enabled EBT system.”⁵

Money has been a recurring obstacle. OTDA Commissioner Barbara Guinn acknowledged that chip cards are the “best path forward” but estimated the upgrade could cost the state as much as $40 million. Proposed funding for the transition was omitted from the final state budget, and legislative efforts to mandate the switch have stalled in Albany since 2023.² State Senator Roxanne J. Persaud has pushed for the transition for more than four years, and Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas publicly stated that the state “failed to act” on earlier legislative proposals.¹

New York’s existing EBT processing runs under a contract with Fidelity Information Services covering a coalition of northeastern states. While that contract contemplates the possibility of chip technology, it was not designed around it, and OTDA has said it would need a separate procurement to move forward.⁵

Where the Chip Card Transition Stands Now

As of early 2026, New York has still not issued a single chip-enabled EBT card. At a February 2026 budget hearing, Commissioner Guinn told lawmakers the agency planned to award a vendor contract “in the coming weeks” and described the transition as a “high priority” over the next 12 to 18 months. She estimated the earliest New Yorkers could receive the new cards would be February 2027. Governor Kathy Hochul’s executive budget proposal did not include a dedicated funding line for the upgrade, though the governor’s office has signaled support for the effort.⁶

OTDA has indicated it will soon issue a request for proposals for a vendor to provide both traditional magnetic-stripe cards and a chip card option so the state can obtain firm cost estimates. On the legislative front, State Senate bill S1465, introduced by Senator Jose M. Serrano, would make chip technology standard on New York’s EBT cards and has passed the state Senate.³

If Your SNAP Benefits Were Skimmed

What you can do depends almost entirely on when the theft happened.

Benefits Stolen Between October 1, 2022 and December 20, 2024

The federal reimbursement program created by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 remains available for thefts inside this window, but you must act quickly. Claims must be submitted within 30 days of discovering the theft. If two months or fewer of benefits were skimmed, the full amount can be replaced; if more was taken, replacement is capped at roughly two months’ worth of benefits.⁷

The steps:

Report the card as stolen by calling EBT Customer Service at 888-328-6399 or using the ConnectEBT website, even if your physical card is still in your possession.
Review your transaction history through the ConnectEBT app, website, or phone line and identify the fraudulent charges.
Submit a claim online through the NYC.gov benefits replacement portal, in person at a Benefits Access Center or SNAP Center, or by mail to the Department of Social Services in Brooklyn.⁷

You do not need an active SNAP case to be eligible, and decisions typically take up to four weeks. If a claim is denied, you can request a Fair Hearing by phone at 800-342-3334, online through the OTDA website, or by mail.⁷

Benefits Stolen After December 20, 2024

There is no reimbursement program for thefts after this date. New York State offices are no longer accepting replacement requests for electronically stolen SNAP benefits, and Congress’s final continuing resolution did not extend the federal program.⁸⁹ Under SNAP’s permanent law, there is no federal provision for replacing benefits stolen after receipt, and EBT transactions are specifically exempted from Regulation E, the consumer protection framework that covers debit and credit card fraud.

If you are in New York City, your only potential avenue is an emergency food grant through the Human Resources Administration, which comes with its own income and resource requirements. In the meantime, you can use the “Freeze/Unfreeze” feature on the ebtEDGE website or app to lock your card when you are not using it. It is a basic safeguard, not a fix.⁹

Compensation for benefits stolen in this later window is one of the specific remedies the Legal Services NYC lawsuit is seeking. Until the case is decided or the state creates its own replacement program, recipients who are skimmed today have no guaranteed path to getting their benefits back.

1
Legal Services NYC. Legal Services NYC Sues New York State Over Its Failure to Convert EBT Swipe Cards to More Secure Chip Cards
2
NY Focus. NY Food Stamp Theft Chip Card Lawsuit
3
Newsweek. New York State Lawsuit SNAP Benefit Theft
4
NY Focus. New York Stolen SNAP Benefits
5
NYS Office of the State Comptroller. Determination of Appeal SF-20220121
6
NY Focus. SNAP Theft Food Stamp Chip Card Hochul
7
The Legal Aid Society. What You Need to Know About Reimbursement for Skimmed SNAP and Cash Assistance Benefits
8
Congressional Research Service. SNAP Replacement of Stolen Benefits
9
Hunger Solutions New York. SNAP Benefits Stolen Through Electronic Theft