Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ("Snap") Fraud Alert for Hudson County Residents
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 20, 2020
CONTACT: James Kennelly, Hudson County Executive's Office
PHONE: 201-966-3008
SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM ("SNAP") FRAUD ALERT FOR HUDSON COUNTY RESIDENTS
SNAP clients warned to beware of solicitations made seeking confidential financial information from phony, third party sources.
Jersey City, NJ-Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise warned residents, especially clients or applicants to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), to beware of any solicitation made by any other agency, company, or consulting group other than the Hudson County Division of Family Services today. That warning includes but is not limited to a company identified as FSP Consulting.
The Division of Family Services received a complaint from a Hudson County resident and SNAP recipient against FSP Consulting, alleging among other things, that the resident was solicited by this company and asked in the course of this solicitation to provide confidential information such as bank account numbers.
"The Hudson County Division of Family Services is the only agency a resident should have contact with regarding SNAP benefits and it will NEVER request bank account information," said County Executive DeGise. "If you receive a phone call or correspondence from anyone other than the Division of Family Services related to your benefits, please disregard this contact and immediately report it to the Division of Family Services or to the Hudson County Division of Consumer Protection."
These kinds of scams are often designed to take advantage of vulnerable residents, such as those wishing to cooperate as fully as possible in order to receive needed benefits for their families. While clients may not have significant financial assets, confidential information such as bank account numbers, social security numbers and other identifying information can be used to create fake identities used to scam others. This kind of information should always be protected.
All residents who have been defrauded by FSP Consulting, or its subsidiaries, or any other entity and have not yet reported it, may contact Robert Knapp, Division Director for the Hudson County Division of Family Services at 201-395-5463 or Steve Krywinski, Chief of the Hudson County Office of Consumer Protection at (201)795-6231 or emailed at [email protected].
"Our first line of defense in the fight against fraud is you," said the County Executive. "Please contact us if you receive this kind of solicitation to help us protect you, your families and your neighbors."
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