How long for CalFresh to reissue stolen EBT benefits after scam? Girlfriend desperate!

omg this happened to me back in january!! took them 22 DAYS to refund my stolen benefits. i was FURIOUS. they kept saying 'its under review' every time i called. make sure she keeps checking her balance daily bc they didnt even notify me when they finally put the money back. also they only refunded me for transactions that happened in cities i had never been to... said the ones in my hometown were 'questionable' and denied those 😡 the whole system is BROKEN

According to the updated EBT theft reimbursement policy for 2025, counties are supposed to process these claims within 10 business days. Make sure your girlfriend has submitted the EBT-2259 form (Benefit Theft Claim) in addition to the police report. Many county workers forget to tell clients about this form, but it's required for processing. Also important: she should request expedited processing due to hardship - this can sometimes speed things up. The county should offer emergency food assistance while her claim is pending.

my cousins friend had this happen and she went to the food bank while waiting for benefits to be replaced. 2-3 weeks seems normal from what i heard. its ridiculous how slow they are!

After my benefits were stolen ($240) i was told 7-10 business days but it actually took 16 calendar days to get replaced. I literally cried when they finally showed up because I was so hungry. What worked for me was calling my assigned worker's supervisor directly - had to be really persistent though. Also check if there's a local emergency food program she can apply for while waiting, some counties have special programs for situations like this.

I've helped several clients through this process recently. The key is making sure the claim is properly documented. Your girlfriend needs to have: 1. Police report number 2. Completed EBT-2259 form (available on BenefitsCal website) 3. List of all fraudulent transactions with dates/amounts 4. Written statement explaining when/how she discovered the theft When I help clients call their county workers about these issues, wait times are ridiculous. I've been recommending Claimyr (claimyr.com) to them - it's a service that waits on hold with CalFresh for you and calls you when a real person answers. Saved one of my clients 3+ hours of hold time last week. They have a quick demo video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8 As for timeframe - officially it's 10 business days, but realistically I've seen anywhere from 5-20 days depending on the county and how complete the documentation is.

The EBT-2259 is the specific form for benefit theft claims. It's fairly new (replaced the older EBT-2240 last year) and some county offices are still using outdated forms. The critical difference is the 2259 specifically triggers the 10-day expedited review process. While she waits, make sure she gets help from emergency resources: - Local food banks (call 211 for locations) - County emergency assistance program (usually a 1-3 day turnaround) - Local churches often have emergency food programs with no wait If it goes beyond 10 business days, she should file a state-level complaint as this violates the timeframe requirement established in the 2024 EBT Theft Protection Act.

i thought calfresh was switching to that new system where u get a text code before the transaction goes thru?? my worker told me that was happening in 2025 to stop these scams. has anyone gotten that feature yet? seems like it would prevent this whole mess

UPDATE: You guys are amazing! She went to the office in person today with all the documentation mentioned here, specifically asked for the EBT-2259 form, and mentioned the 10-day policy requirement. The worker admitted they'd been using the wrong form! They reprocessed everything and said she should have the benefits back within 5 business days - AND they gave her a $75 emergency food voucher to use immediately. Thank you all so much for your help!