I'm being made to pay back $2k food stamps I didn't even receive - I'm only 18 and don't earn much m
A HIGH school student has been ordered to pay back $2,000 in food stamps that he never even received.
Quinn Harrer, 18, is being held responsible to pay back the money in food stamps that his mom applied for after losing her job during the pandemic.
Denver Human Services justifies the demand for repayment with a state regulation stating that “all adult household members shall be jointly
and severally liable for the value of any overissuance of benefits to the household."
Harrer was only an 18-year-old high school student when he received the letter from Human Services demanding $1938, and he was taken aback.
“Now all of sudden I’m in debt. I don’t know what to do, $2,000 is a lot, a lot of money," Harrer told CBS4. "If I don’t pay it back, they’ll take it out of my taxes."
“I don’t make a lot of money.”
Harrer told the outlet that he knew his mother had been unemployed, but he wasn't aware that she applied for food stamps at the time.
The single mother of three alleges that the county made a mistake when calculating her unemployment benefits.
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According to Harrer's mother, the agency has not backed down and has even sent the case to the US Treasury Department for collections.
In Colorado, SNAP claimants receive, on average, $233 per person or $456 per household in food stamps.
Harrer's Attorney Suzanne Taheri filed an appeal pro-bono with the State Department of Human Services.
Taheri said that Harrer hasn't had a chance to dispute the charge in a hearing held by the county or the state, and claims the case might not have been given due process.
“They’re pretty ruthless,” said Harrer.
Neither Denver Human Services nor Colorado's Department of Human Services have responded to The Sun for comment.
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