Agriculture Secretary posts photo of man accused of food stamp fraud days before midterms

Voters in the coming days will see a new image on their phone feeds. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins posted a photo on X on Saturday showing a Black man standing before stacks of U.S. currency. He holds a burning bill in one hand. The caption reads, "SNAP FRAUDSTER." It references the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the federal food assistance benefit formerly known as food stamps. The image appears to be from a September 2025 Instagram post by an account named Shawty Dred.

The post lands just before the midterm elections. It follows a White House post on X on Thursday showing a pumpkin carved with the shape of a sombrero. The text accompanying that image read, "Spooky szn is here." The administration has recently intensified its focus on immigration enforcement and fraud detection. Officials frame these efforts as a way to save taxpayer money. Rising healthcare costs and other economic pressures have made affordability a primary concern for many voters.

The man in the photo is Mercedes Reshard New. The Justice Department identified him as the social media personality known as "Shawty Dred." Federal prosecutors said in a release on Oct. 21 that New controlled more than 350 fraudulent SNAP accounts using stolen identities between January 2020 and July 2026. He allegedly used his company, Shawty Dred LLC, to become an authorized retailer and extract about $4 million with EBT debit cards. A federal grand jury indicted him on Oct. 7. He was arrested on Oct. 13 and remains in federal custody.

Special Agent in Charge Marlo Graham of the FBI Atlanta office said in the release that the money was meant to feed families in need. Instead, New allegedly used it to fund a luxurious lifestyle. Posts on his Instagram account, which has more than two million followers, show him on private jets and with Rolls-Royce vehicles. The account also featured a home he called a "super mansion."

This is not the first time the White House has used such imagery. During the government shutdown a year ago, the office shared a deepfake video of House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries wearing a fake mustache and sombrero. Jeffries called the meme bigoted. Vice President JD Vance promised at that time that the "sombrero memes will stop." The NAACP, the White House, and Rollins did not respond to an email seeking comment on the new posts.

The administration has taken other punitive steps in states led by Democrats, including California and Minnesota. Those governors accused the federal government of targeting their states for political reasons. Federal agents also searched the Washington, D.C., home of Rep. Ilhan Omar earlier this month. They are investigating potential fraud in her family’s immigration paperwork. Omar is a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Somalia.

New’s attorney, Joseph Austin, did not return a phone message. Court records show New has been arrested previously in Fulton County on suspicion of identity theft, insurance fraud, and forgery. The next step in his case is scheduled in federal court, where he will answer the dozens of counts against him.