Louisiana Disqualifies Food Stamps for Overspending

Louisiana's social services department says it stripped food stamps from six people who deliberately overspent their monthly benefits when the electronic service was down in October.

The Department of Children and Family Services said Monday it also is working to disqualify another 25 food stamp recipients.

Several Louisiana retailers allowed food stamp recipients to make unlimited purchases on Oct. 12, when the electronic card system was down and balances couldn't be checked.

DCFS says some took advantage of the computer snafu and spent more than their available benefits. The department says it is pursuing 500 people who misspent $315,000.

No taxpayer dollars paid for the improper food stamp purchases because DCFS says it didn't cover the costs of retailers, who didn't follow the process for when the electronic system crashes.