Seattle’s Lam’s Seafood under fire AGAIN after Nick Shirley alleged SNAP fraud expose

Seattle’s Lam’s Seafood was caught attempting to sell one can of Spam and a small package of sushi for $120 on an EBT card. This was part of a street-level SNAP cash-out alleged fraud scheme exposed by independent journalist Nick Shirley during a recent investigation.

Shirley posted the video on social media Wednesday, writing on X that “food stamps have become the new ATM for fraudsters” who “trade SNAP cards like Pokémon cards on the streets.”

Shirley and a group of collaborators, including Discovery Institute journalist Jonathan Choe, worked the area around 12th and Jackson in Seattle’s Chinatown (CID), where people described selling access to Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) balances for cash at a fraction of face value. One man told them he had $306 on a card and would sell it for $120, according to the video.

A Vietnamese woman offered to arrange a deal for Shirley and led the crew into Lam’s Seafood at 1221 South King Street. Shirley said the cashier charged $120 for one can of Spam and one plate of sushi. He alleged the highly inflated price allowed the balance to be converted on the spot, with the store and/or employee receiving an alleged potential kickback. He described the matter as a “mafia-style ring.”

After Shirley left the store, he confronted the Vietnamese woman on camera. “You’re committing fraud. Food stamp fraud. It’s against the law,” Shirley said.

The woman responded, “I know, yeah” and began pointing out other people on the street who are allegedly running the same scheme, according to the video.

When Shirley returned to question the market, the situation outside turned violent. One of their security guard’s gun was taken by a violent group of homeless drug addicts when the guard rushed in to protect Choe, who reportedly got assaulted. This prompted Shirley’s crew to flee and escape inside a vehicle.

“This was arguably one of the most dangerous situations I’ve ever been in,” Choe told Shirley while driving off. 

The market was already on law enforcement’s radar. In October 2025, Seattle Police had identified Lam’s Seafood Market as a location where many suspected EBT trafficking transactions occurred during a months-long investigation centered on the notorious block, which has long been taken over by homeless junkies.

Detectives described “EBT traffickers” buying cards and PINs from people struggling with addiction or homelessness, often for cash at a steep discount, then using the benefits to buy goods later resold, local news reported. 

King County prosecutors charged Ha Son Thach, 54, and Lien My Khuu, 46, with multiple counts of unlawful trafficking in food stamps, a felony. Prosecutors described a “drug-driven black market” in which cash from the deals was used to buy narcotics. The defendants pleaded not guilty.

Despite local law enforcement's efforts, it appears that the alleged scheme remains ongoing.

Shirley called on the White House Fraud Task Force to mobilize federal law enforcement agencies and shut Lam’s Seafood down. 

Congressman Tim Burchett, of Tennessee, responded to the expose. “If we would get off our a** and pass my bill HR 9649 which would fine them $250,000 and remove them from the program this would end!”

According to the White House Fraud Task Force's "Fraud Ledger," the division has uncovered $260.7 billion in fraud since its inception earlier this year.