Pennsylvania Benefits Office Supervisor Allegedly Trades Stolen EBT Cards for Crack Cocaine, Drains $20,558 in Food Aid

A Pennsylvania county assistance office supervisor is accused of stealing food benefits meant for low-income families and trading some of the cards for crack cocaine.

The Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office says Sheila McDonald, 46, allegedly took more than $20,000 in benefits and swapped them for drugs and cash or used them at area stores, reports WFMZ.

McDonald started at the Lehigh County Assistance Office in January of 2024 and was assigned as its “EBT Coordinator,” the person in charge of securing the Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards the office created and mailed out.

That job gave her access to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients’ personal information, including dates of birth and Social Security numbers.

In November of 2025, the office alerted Pennsylvania’s Office of State Inspector General that a mailed EBT card never reached its owner, even though four unauthorized transactions had been made on it.

Prosecutors allege McDonald used the recipient’s date of birth and the last four digits of their Social Security number to activate the card.

Surveillance video allegedly showed her withdrawing $20 in cash with the card and making purchases at a convenience store and a grocery store.

Investigators also allege that the card was activated through a cell phone number McDonald used, and that the same number was used to activate or check the balance on other EBT cards.

A man told investigators that McDonald often gave him EBT cards, along with the PINs, instead of cash to buy crack cocaine.

Authorities accuse McDonald of activating 48 EBT cards and using them more than 270 times, taking $20,558.61 in total.

She faces felony counts of theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception, access device fraud, criminal conspiracy and receiving stolen property.

McDonald is in custody but has not yet been arraigned.

The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services has suspended her, cut off her access to all systems and issued replacement EBT cards to affected households.