Michigan oversight panel hears OIG on Bridge Card fraud, OIG urges state funding for chip cards

Lansing, Mich. — The Michigan House Oversight Committee on State and Local Public Assistance Program heard the Office of the Inspector General describe a broad program of investigations into Bridge Card (food assistance) fraud and urged legislative help to fund chip-card technology on June 12, 2025.

Inspector General Stacy Sampson told the committee the office uses data analytics, interagency data sharing and targeted investigations to identify trafficking, identity theft and cloned point-of-sale (skimmer) schemes that steal benefits intended for eligible recipients. "Our mission is to assist the department in maintaining integrity and accountability in the administration of its health and human services programs," Sampson said.

The presentation laid out why the issue matters to taxpayers and recipients. Sampson said Medicaid enrollment approaches 4,000,000 beneficiaries with a nearly $24,000,000,000 budget, while the Food Assistance Program (FAP) has almost 2,000,000 recipients and a roughly $3,200,000,000 budget. She described investigations that rely on federal PARIS data matches, front-end eligibility reviews and store-transaction analytics, and she urged the Legislature to consider funding for a transition from…