A Wayne County man will spend the next year under federal supervision and confinement for his role in a scheme that defrauded a federal food assistance program out of more than $100,000. Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II sentenced Deshaune White to six months in federal prison, followed by six months of home confinement and three years of supervised release.
White was also ordered to pay a forfeiture money judgment of $102,733.80 to return the stolen funds.
White pulled off the fraud by using his employment inside the system. Working as a case worker for the Lenoir County Division of Social Services, he used his position and tech privileges to unlawfully access the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) accounts of qualified individuals. From there, he diverted $102,733.80 in government funds for his own personal benefit and use.
The SNAP program is federally funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and managed statewide by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, alongside local county offices.
The prosecution lands amidst a broader federal crackdown on benefit theft. On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division, a unit tasked with investigating and prosecuting those who misuse taxpayer dollars. These efforts support President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government initiative chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within federal benefit programs.
Following the sentencing, Ellis Boyle, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, announced the court’s decision and underscored the government’s stance on safety-net theft.
“We are proud to prosecute this case as a part of the President’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud. This office will continue to hold accountable anyone who defrauds any of our taxpayer-funded programs. This SNAP benefits fraudster is now a felon and will have to pay back his ill-gotten gains. Hopefully, he has learned the lesson – Cheaters. Never. Win.” said U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle.
The investigation was a joint effort between the USDA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office. Officials noted that targeting insider threats remains a major priority for federal oversight agencies.
“It is an unconscionable betrayal of the public trust for a county employee responsible for administering federal food assistance to needy North Carolinian families to exploit his privileged access to recipient information to steal from those in need for his personal gain. USDA OIG is committed to working with the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud under VP Vance’s leadership to hold everyone who defrauds American taxpayers and exploits the vulnerable to account. OIG will relentlessly pursue insider threats who try to abuse their position for profit.” – Inspector General John Walk.
READ: $13.8 Million Payday: 8 North Carolina Tax Return Preparers Plead Guilty To Massive Fraud
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