Pembroke Pines Police are searching for a man they say used a stolen electronic benefit transfer card to rack up more than $775 in fraudulent purchases at a local Target and Walmart. Investigators say security footage captured the suspect during the shopping spree, but he has not yet been identified.
According to WSVN 7News, the man used the stolen card to buy items at both retailers, including a large quantity of Café La Llave coffee packets, police said. Both Target and Walmart are authorized SNAP retailers that accept EBT payments for eligible groceries, a process that requires a card swipe and PIN entry at checkout.
Why Bulk Coffee Keeps Turning Up in EBT Fraud Cases
Café La Llave, the Latin-style dark roast produced by the Hispanic family-owned F. Gaviña & Sons, a company with a 150-year coffee-making tradition rooted in Cuba, is a familiar name on South Florida grocery shelves. Bulk packages of the coffee, along with energy drinks, are frequently targeted in EBT resale schemes because they are non-perishable, high-demand items that can be quickly flipped for cash at smaller stores or informal markets.
Anyone who recognizes the man from the surveillance images is asked to contact Detective Victor Lescano of the Pembroke Pines Police Department's Investigations Bureau at 954-993-1897 or [email protected]. The department, which operates out of headquarters at 9500 Pines Boulevard with more than 270 sworn officers serving roughly 179,000 residents, can also be reached at 954-431-2225.
A Broader Pattern of EBT Theft in Broward County
This is not the first time Pembroke Pines has dealt with large-scale EBT fraud this year. Hoodline previously reported on a $120K SNAP ripoff in which Broward Sheriff's Office deputies arrested 43-year-old Tamica Brown of Pembroke Pines for allegedly running a scheme that drained benefits from more than 200 local victims, using stolen numbers to buy bulk energy drinks and retail goods for cash resale, according to CBS News. In that case, investigators noted that victims often discovered the theft only when their cards were declined at checkout.
The problem extends well beyond one city. Federal data shows more than $360 million in SNAP benefits were verified stolen nationwide between 2023 and 2026, prompting lawmakers to introduce the Ending Stolen SNAP Benefits Act in July 2026 to help states transition to chip-enabled EBT cards, according to a U.S. House of Representatives press release. States that have already made the switch, like California, saw an 83% drop in benefit theft after upgrading their cards.
Law enforcement has been coordinating on the issue for some time. In July 2025, the U.S. Secret Service, the USDA Special Investigations Unit, and police departments across Miami-Dade and Broward counties conducted a joint enforcement and outreach operation targeting payment card skimming and EBT fraud in South Florida, per the Secret Service.
What Victims Are Up Against Financially and Legally
Whoever is caught in this case could face serious criminal exposure. Under Florida Statute § 414.39, public assistance fraud involving benefits valued between $200 and $20,000 is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. The same statute also separately criminalizes possessing two or more EBT cards issued to other people with intent to sell them, treating a first offense as a first-degree misdemeanor and any repeat offense as a third-degree felony.
For the person whose benefits were stolen, the financial road back is uncertain. Federal authority letting states use federal funds to replace EBT benefits stolen through skimming or fraudulent card use expired on December 20, 2024, according to the Food and Nutrition Administration, meaning SNAP theft victims after that date have no guaranteed federal reimbursement. Beyond local police, Florida's Division of Public Assistance Fraud within the Department of Financial Services also investigates SNAP and EBT trafficking statewide in partnership with the USDA.
