Dipping into welfare cash to bankroll trips outside of Massachusetts raises too many red flags, fiscal watchdogs say a day after a Herald analysis of shocking EBT card expenditures from Hawaii to Alaska.

It reeks of “fraud,” said MassFiscal’s Paul Craney.

“There’s got to be a change,” added state Sen. Ryan Fattman, a Sutton Republican and ranking party member of the Post Audit and Oversight Committee.

Both stressed that 32 EBT card purchases in Hawaii in Fiscal Year 2024 and others in the Virgin Islands, Alaska, Florida, California, and elsewhere are too suspicious.

“To say there’s nothing to look into is irresponsible,” said Craney. “It’s a complete breakdown of our system and how tax dollars are being spent. Money is fungible, if welfare dollars are being spent on food and other items, what money is being spent on the plane tickets to Hawaii and other vacation destinations?

“Clearly fraud and abuse is taking place,” he added.

The Herald dug deeper in the state Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) data to find that state-funded EBT cards were used all over the U.S. — with Florida and California expenditures raising more red flags.

In Florida, $4,226 was spent in one month in FY24 in Orlando, $4,731 in Kissimmee in July of 2023, $2,202 in Jacksonville also last July, $796 in Miami, and another $435 in Miami Beach in October of 2023 and April of this year, respectively.

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Massachusetts welfare dollars spent in Hawaii, Virgin Islands, Alaska: ‘What the hell is someone doing in Hawaii?’

Massachusetts welfare by-the-numbers

DTA records obtained by the Herald through a public records request reveal that another $1,679 was used in Tampa in August 2023 and $1,673 on the Palm Coast that same month.

In California, Massachusetts-allocated welfare cash was used in San Francisco to LA, San Diego to Rancho Cucamo.

The DTA said any “out-of-state usage beyond approved temporary absences can result in an individual no longer receiving assistance due to not meeting Massachusetts residency requirements.” But the same analysis in 2019 showed expenditures all over the map — including in Hawaii.

As for Massachusetts, Worcester and Springfield lead the way in monthly EBT money used, with Dorchester, Quincy, Lynn, New Bedford, Brockton, and Fall River, all top needy communities. But in these cases, the money spent stays in the state.