Philadelphia Man Pleads Guilty to Defrauding the Government of More Than $1 Million in SNAP, Medicaid Benefits
Apr 30, 2025
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that James Sessoms, 60, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, entered a plea of guilty today before United States District Court Judge Chad F. Kenney on one count of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) fraud, seven counts of false statements in connection with health care benefits, and seven counts of Social Security fraud.
Sessoms was charged by indictment with those offenses in October of 2024, arising from his scheme to use stolen identities and Social Security numbers (SSNs) to file for government benefits, including SNAP and Medicaid, with a total loss to the government of $1,063,633. As part of the scheme, the defendant would sell the fraudulently acquired SNAP cards for profit at a local supermarket.
As detailed in court filings and admitted to by the defendant, from in or about November 2019 through in or about November 2023, Sessoms defrauded the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) of SNAP benefits, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (PA DHS) of Medicaid benefits, by submitting false and fraudulent benefit applications, including false and fraudulent identification documents in connection with his applications.
As part of the scheme, Sessoms obtained or created the names, SSNs, and personally identifiable information for several fictitious persons, and obtained the names and personally identifiable information of other persons, including valid SSNs, which he placed on the applications for SNAP and Medical benefits, which were submitted to PA DHS under penalty of perjury. To obtain these benefits, Sessoms also submitted false and fraudulent driver’s licenses bearing his photograph under those fictitious and other persons’ names.
On some of the online applications, the defendant added purported family members, such as a spouse and children, which caused for more funds to be awarded for SNAP benefits, but also caused additional Medicaid costs, including additional costs for all of the added family members. To obtain these benefits with family members on the applications, Sessoms submitted fraudulent names and personally identifiable information for a spouse and children, to include fraudulent birth certificates for the children. The Social Security numbers utilized in connection with these identities were valid SSNs, assigned by the Commissioner of Social Security, but assigned to other individuals than the names alleged by the defendant.
From in or about November 2019 to in or about November 2023, PA DHS, with joint federal funding from HHS, provided Medicaid coverage to Sessoms under his numerous aliases, as well as to his purported family members as he indicated on his fraudulent applications.
From in or about November 2019 through in or about November 2023, PA DHS, with federal funding from the USDA, provided SNAP benefits to Sessoms under his numerous aliases, as well as to his purported family members as he indicated on his fraudulent applications.
The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced on August 21 and faces a maximum possible term of 90 years’ imprisonment.
The case was investigated by the USDA Office of Inspector General, Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, HHS Office of Inspector General, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Pennsylvania Office of State Inspector General and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Megan Curran.
Read more from the SSA: Read More
