A tattoo parlor in Raleigh, North Carolina reportedly took food stamps as payment for tattoos.

The shop is called Addiction Tattooz. Its owner, Clifford Craig Tittle, was arrested after police discovered that he was accepting Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards as payment. EBT cards look and function like a debit card but actually store “food stamp” subsidies. The cards are only supposed to be used to purchase food.

Tittle accepted EBT cards at least four separate times, revealed the  Agriculture Department.

As reported by The Daily Caller, “On Sept. 4 two people charged $421 and $417.61 to EBT cards (in addition to cash) for work at Ink Addiction Tattooz.  On Sept. 6 another person charged $413 to their EBT card plus $175 in cash for tattoo work from Tittle. Also on Sept. 6, another person sold Tittle an EBT card worth $570 to Tittle for $215.”

One man who was familiar with Addiction Tattooz worked with police officers to catch Tittle. The informant “sold” Tittle food stamps two times in September. In exchange for the food stamps, Tittle gave the informant $600 worth of tattoos.

Thankfully, The Agriculture Department was able to stop the trafficking at this tattoo parlor. But the problem may expand far beyond Addiction Tattooz.

Food stamps are valuable because they can easily be traded for money using the “cash back” option at many convenience stores.

How can our government prevent welfare benefits, intended to put food on the table, from being used to pay for luxuries like tattoos?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.