South Carolina Woman Briana Simmons Caught Stealing Nearly $57,000 from Taxpayers in Major Welfare Fraud Scheme

In a developing scandal, a woman from South Carolina is facing legal charges after being accused of extensive food stamp fraud. Authorities have reported that she unlawfully received $56,762 more in SNAP benefits than she was entitled to, resulting in her arrest in June for providing false information regarding her income on her SNAP application.

For context, on July 8, 2025, the South Carolina Department of Social Services revealed that Briana Renea Hunt Simmons, a 35-year-old resident of Georgetown County, had been charged with fraudulently obtaining tens of thousands of dollars in SNAP benefits. Additionally, the department confirmed that Simmons is currently awaiting trial.

As reported by the press, Simmons faces charges for deliberately omitting her husband’s income from her SNAP applications, which resulted in an excess of $56,762 in benefits. Furthermore, jail records from the Georgetown County Detention Center indicated that Simmons had been released on a $5,000 bond.

Notably, Simmons’ offense occurred shortly after a significant statement from U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, who remarked at a Breitbart policy event that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is “ripe with fraud and abuse and corruption,” adding that “$400 million of our taxpayer money is spent every day across our nutrition programs, just at USDA.”

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Continuing her remarks, Secretary Rollins expressed uncertainty about whether any other program required more reform than the SNAP program, which is commonly known as the food stamp program. She elaborated that the Secret Service had apprehended individuals like Simmons who were engaged in SNAP fraud, which allegedly resulted in “tens of millions of dollars” being misappropriated.

Additionally, the secretary mentioned that her agency was “working to change that, of course,” in reference to the purported fraud within the food stamp program. She further stated, “There’s just a lot of work that we need to do. The fact that we’re simply distributing all of this money without any requirement for work from able-bodied, adult individuals seems quite unreasonable to me.”

In addition, following Secretary Rollins’ remarks regarding SNAP, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders was among several Republicans who pledged to actively restrict SNAP-eligible foods in her state. She expressed her intention to seek a SNAP Waiver from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service, which would endorse fresh fruits, vegetables, eggs, and protein while prohibiting the use of SNAP for junk food.

Furthermore, Utah’s Senator Mike Lee (R) is also advocating for SNAP reform in his state, as reported by the press. Senator Lee informed reporters, “American tax dollars should not be utilized to fund junk food and jeopardize the health of the most vulnerable Americans.” He further remarked, “The quickest way to ‘Make America Healthy Again’ is to promote balanced diets and cease subsidizing unhealthy food options.”