Rhode Island DHS Supervisor Pleads Guilty To SNAP Scheme

PROVIDENCE, RI — A Rhode Island Department of Human Services supervisor pleaded guilty to conspiracy and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program fraud.

Nadine Jean Baptiste, 59, "admitted to repeatedly accessing SNAP Electronic Benefit Transfer ... card information, conducting unauthorized telephonic balance inquiries, and altering PIN numbers associated with those cards," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a media release.

"Many of the affected individuals were juveniles, homeless, or incarcerated at the time their information was accessed," the release said.

In total, EBT cards containing more than $300,000 in SNAP benefits were improperly accessed," according to the release. "It is further alleged that Jean Baptiste and her daughter used fraudulently accessed SNAP benefits to make personal purchases."

Jean Baptiste, a resident of Warwick, came under scrutiny in September 2023 when the "Rhode Island Office of Internal Audit received multiple complaints from SNAP recipients through its Fraud Hotline, reporting that they never received the EBT cards issued to them. SNAP cards are typically mailed to a recipient’s address or provided in person at a DHS office, including to homeless individuals who pick them up onsite," the release said.

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