Investigations
Nick Shirley filmed EBT trafficking at Lam's Seafood
He posed as a benefit seller in Seattle's Chinatown-International District until a brawl broke out nearby.
In Seattle's Chinatown-International District, Nick Shirley posed as someone selling Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits and filmed an Electronic Benefit Transfer purchase at Lam's Seafood Market. He posted the report on Oct. 7, 2026.
Trafficking around 12th Avenue and South Jackson Street sits at the center of an ongoing Seattle Police Department probe. Since July 2025, West Precinct officers watched suspects pay homeless and addicted cardholders a fraction of their balances, then use the cards to buy goods for resale. The department said in October 2025 that it had identified 18 suspects and arrested 11. King County prosecutors have charged defendants with unlawful trafficking in food stamps, a Class C felony under Washington law.
Shirley worked with citizen journalists Darren Stalkup, Grant Den, and Jonathan Cho. They collected EBT cards discarded in encampments and asked people on the street how to cash out benefits. One man sent them to Lam's and a nearby market, telling them to stand on the corner until buyers approached.
A woman drove Shirley and Den to Lam's in a minivan. She bought one can of Spam and a package of sushi while the register listed $120 against an EBT card Shirley carried without the correct PIN. Clerks kept retrying the charge. Shirley confronted her on camera and said the sale was food stamp fraud. She said she was from Vietnam and that she bought food to eat at home.
Inside the store Shirley asked workers why Spam cost $120. Up the hill, Cho's security detail fought with homeless individuals, a handgun fell from a guard's pocket, and someone took the weapon during the scramble. Shirley's group ran for their van as people on the block shouted his name.
Federal law bars exchanging SNAP benefits for cash and treats certain store-side schemes as trafficking. Retailers can face permanent disqualification from the program and criminal charges. Prior police filings describe Lam's as a frequent site for EBT purchases in the International District and note that many traffickers have been banned from the store while sending runners inside with cardholders.
Source video: I Caught A Fraudster In The Act...