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Heroin Dealer Allegedly Posts Bail With His EBT Card

Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards (the debit card equivalent of food stamps) have been at the center of a heated national discussion on welfare reform. There have been numerous reports of EBT card abuse and some states have started cracking down on card holders. Of course, whenever someone talks about welfare reform, one side of the political spectrum claims it’s “racially motivated.”

However, even those claims might be put aside for a moment in Massachusetts after a heroin allegedly posted bail with his EBT card.

“A convicted drug dealer…is the new face of welfare abuse, according to tough-minded lawmakers who are pushing…for a crackdown,” John Zaremba and Chris Cassidy of the Boston Herald write.

Kimball Clark, 45, was arrested on Friday on drug related charges — again. Yeah, he’s a multiple offender.

Heroin Dealer Allegedly Posts Bail With EBT CardKimball Clark

While making his one phone call, police overheard him say: “get my EBT card and go to the ATM and get the money to bail me out, get me outa’ here tonight.”

Obviously, the thought of convicted felon using his taxpayer-funded EBT to post bail isn’t sitting well with a lot of people.

“It’s another outrage,” said Rep. Shaunna O’Connell (R-MA), who criticizes the state for failing to push tough restrictions on the cards.

“When we were on the EBT Card Commission, I fought to get bail bondsmen on that list of places where people could not use their EBT cards. They fought me on it and told me people can’t use their EBT cards in that way,” the representative added.

See the Fox 25 news update (via Washington Free Beacon):

Another state representative, Rep. Russell Holmes (D-MA), said he was “hardly surprised that a drug suspect would try to bail himself out with money from a taxpayer-funded EBT card,” according to the Boston Herald

“It’s exactly the type of activity that can occur when folks are allowed to get money off their EBT card,” Rep. Holmes said.

Oh, yeah, and because it’s difficult to trace cash withdrawn from ATMs, it’s feared the problem is widespread.

“One of the arguments I’ve heard is we don’t know how much fraud and abuse there is. But that’s the problem — we don’t know because there’s no way to track it. When it comes to how much of this has happened in jail, there’s no way for us to know that,” Rep. Holmes said.

Clark, whose past charges include assault and battery and cocaine possession, posted bail and was released.

Front page photo source: Boston Herald

Comments (118)

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  • Plan B
    Posted on April 12, 2012 at 3:20am

    No wonder we have so many on Food Stamps now. Why in the world can foodstamps be used to get cash? That is insane. If he is convicted of selling heroin again, then he should be charged with medicaid fraud because he did not report the income.

    Report Post »  
    • ccfonten
      Posted on April 12, 2012 at 4:46am

      Is this not typical of our welfare addicted people? After working for 40 yrs as a Registered Nurse, I just want to know where is my gardener and my housekeeper????
      Just another good reason to drug test welfare recipients. The left hates this idea.

      Report Post » ccfonten  
    • IraHayesFlagRaiser
      Posted on April 12, 2012 at 8:16am

      The so call leaders of the black community encourage their followers (the blind, the dumb, and the ignorant) to CONTINUE to be takers rather than givers. The blacks of this county are being encouraged to continue looking for handouts and never willing to go to the head of the line and CONTRIBUTE, PLEASE if you don’t like America, if you think Cuba, or Venezuela, or Jordan, or Turkey or Africa or some other 3rd world low-life country would be better to live in than this place called America, please be my guest and LEAVE! Live in those countries you proclaim to be “so much better” than America, the very place who has given you the FREEDOM to say the very things that show your ignorance. Please go to other places that you believe are so much more open than America, so much safer to live in, give yourself and your families to those despotic leaders that would sooner cut your tongue out for speaking the slightest against them; please leave the very country you are sucking the lifeblood from, the very Country you despise, which is providing you with the freedom to complain! So please shut you big mouth and keep your anti-American ant-patriot mouth closed!

      Report Post » IraHayesFlagRaiser  
    • captaincameron
      Posted on April 12, 2012 at 9:25am

      The rules may have changed, and I’ve taken to avoiding that section of town, but in Florida a few years ago, food stamps could not be used for alcohol or tobacco.
      So what people would do would be to hang out in front of the grocery stores and ask people for $20 in cash for $25 worth of food stamps. The initial food stamp recipient can now go and get a bottle and a few packs of smokes; the person who bought the food stamps just “earned” five dollars in free groceries.
      I say prosecute both parties.

      Report Post » captaincameron  
    • johnjamison
      Posted on April 12, 2012 at 10:13am

      This is why we need drug testing for all WELFARE RECIPIENTS. Test to qualify and random spot checks. We shouls also require welfare recipients to do 20 hours of community service a week as well.

      Report Post »  
    • 000degrees
      Posted on April 12, 2012 at 11:11am

      obama voter….

      Report Post »  
    • The Gooch
      Posted on April 12, 2012 at 11:36am

      Drug testing welfare recipients will receive less consideration than these two proposals that died a quick death in my state:
      1) Having smokers take a cessation course or have benefits limited with Medicaid.
      2) Having the obese join Wellness Centers (i.e., gyms) or have benefits limited with Medicaid.

      The service providers in my state (medical and mental health) shot these proposals down because the recepients aren‘t ’sophisticated’ enough to follow thru w/these requirements. Translation: Welfare recepients are too dumb and lazy to follow thru w/such requirements and we, the providers, can’t afford for them to have their benefits limited. But we can’t say what we really mean.

      Govt. will never allow this… and shouldn’t. I say if people wanna destroy themselves with drugs, give ‘em more drugs. Don’t bother with thinking they want fed or saved. That’s stupid. It’s cheaper and less costly socially to let folks exhibit free will and destroy themselves. But there are too many busybodies who are out to save the world (and make a living off of a govt. interventions (not just the recipients… those doing the ‘saving’ also).We’ll never bother with rethinking our approach to either substance use or the vaunted social safety net. Too many jobs, both in govt. and in the prison and health care industries depend on maintaining the status quo.

      Report Post »  
    • pastorcop12
      Posted on April 12, 2012 at 11:49am

      No…let’s not make them be drug tested, let’s just continue to allow people to abuse the system!

      Report Post »  
    • KevINtampa
      Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:04pm

      @THE_GOOCH

      1) Having smokers take a cessation course or have benefits limited with Medicaid.

      Just one thing Gooch… The public generates waaaaaaaay more money off of Tobacco taxes than what the public spends in supporting those with tobacco related cancer/illness, the difference is in the tens of billions. You want something like what you state above, fine, but stop taxing the product at that point. Smokers pay for their “public insurance” with every pack ten fold.

      Stop being so ignorant and such a useful idiot and smarten up, you are a tool if you don’t. And, no, I don’t smoke. It’s a nasty habit, but so is spewing nasty sentiment like what you have done above; and both parties have the right to do that and I’ll stand up for the both of you. You have the right to live with ignorance and zero thought, and the guy across the hall from me has the right to poison his lungs; with out needing to be forced to take a class.

      Report Post »  
    • KevINtampa
      Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:08pm

      @THE_GOOCH

      Not necessarily saying you are the tool, just the person who may side with such flawed logic….

      Report Post »  
    • The Gooch
      Posted on April 12, 2012 at 6:50pm

      No problem, Kevin. You make a good point: The state needs smokers… gotta have that sweet tobacco money.
      My point on this whole issue is folks need to remember both how govt. tends to work and how the vaunted social safety net works. If it’s found out a recipient is a junky, guess what the state’s next move is? To ‘save’ the junky. Go figure. This is a spiraling, never-ending exercise in futility. We all make choices and sometimes we make bad choices. I don‘t see anything noble in attempting to save those who either don’t wanna be saved or who want to guilt you into sustaining them.
      When a junky is exposed, the state (and lots of folks who perpetuate the substance abuse treatment industry… and suck up huge sums of cash) will sweep in to throw MORE money at the revealed ‘victim’.
      Did I mention I have no patience for junkies, their enablers and the parasites who profit off of them?
      I believe you must let people fail and hunger is a powerful motivator. I also believe throwing junkies in jail and attempting to “cure” them is a proven failure. Offer education and supports, but compelling people into treatment just enriches charlatans.
      Own your BS. I’ll help the helpless, not the clueless. Neither govt. nor its agents will accept that stance. And that is an idiot’s suicide pact.

      Report Post »  
    • vehoae
      Posted on April 12, 2012 at 7:50pm

      IRAHAYESFLAGRAISER: You miss the point. What anti-American folks (from all races) want nowadays is to take over all the “good” things that have been built up in this Republic, without having to invest any sweat-equity. These anti-Americans are spitting on the indigenous people of this continent, to whom these lands and natural treasures have always belonged. These anti-Americans are also spitting on me, and you, and our ancestors who have been residing in North America from around 1000 AD forward. Our ancestors who sacrificed much, founding a Republic (not a democracy!). Unfortunately, that Republic no longer exists in real life. It has been craftily unassembled over the past century, by career politicians, most of whom were attorneys. The intuitive anti-Americans (those with no annoying loyalties to God) knew from the git go that education would be the “tool” through which they and their ilk, decade after decade, could replace the Republic with a system whereby there would be more alleged “fairness” in how monetary and non-monetary wealth was distributed. Whether through communism, fascism, socialism – whatever it took. Now just look at the X and Y generations, and the up & coming Z generation. All they want is … everything. Free of charge, and no required sweat-equity. They have “itching ears”, and salivate for revisionist-history.

      Lord, come quickly.

      Report Post »  
    • BlenGeck
      Posted on April 12, 2012 at 11:56pm

      Does this surprise anyone? Heil obama! 48% of this country says so!!!

      Report Post » BlenGeck  
    • FedUpWithLibs
      Posted on May 24, 2012 at 8:27pm

      He didn’t use food stamps to get cash. They also get cash along with food stamps put on their EBT card. These people do a lot worse than pay their bail. For example, buying the drugs that put them in jail. As horrible as this is I still wonder how we even know this happened ? I‘m not comfortable with the police or jail guards or who ever listening and then telling reporters about people’s private phone calls regardless of how in the right they are.

      Report Post » FedUpWithLibs  
  • abbygirl1994
    Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:58am

    I would say go back to paper foodstamps. but they just sale them for cash! It really doesn’t do any good to call Welfare on these types of thuggery either.. they just turn their head the other way.. and pretend that nothing ever happened. They do it with SSI and SS, Medicaid and Medicare! Cheats, should be locked up.. that includes doctors and hospitals who double charge.. etc! Cheats come in all forms, this guy is just another cheat! Lord help us!

    Report Post » abbygirl1994  
  • justangry
    Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:40am

    Not really the point, but how is heroin still being produced if we’re occupying the land where the opium poppies grow. You‘d think we’d shut down production if it was the source of funding for Al Queda.

    Report Post » justangry  
  • KickinBack
    Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:23am

    You can only blame democrats for this. People who live their lives off of *free* money have no ambition, no motivation, nothing to fulfill themselves with a sense of accomplishment to make life grand. And that is why folks, we have modern day slavery.

    God HELP us if Obama is re-elected.

    Report Post » KickinBack  
    • lala76
      Posted on April 12, 2012 at 7:48am

      “God helps us” is right! If Obama gets another term then there will be no limit to what he’ll push through with executive order. This term he’s been “in check” so that he’ll get re-elected. As soon as my tax return hits I’m getting my first handgun, along with all the proper training from my former Marine Marksmanship Instructor :-D I live in the south and race relations are already hideous, and it’s only going to get worse.

      Report Post »  
  • The Gooch
    Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:39am

    Ha! Ha! Ha! The almighty and unquestionable social safety net saves another downtrodden victim of society. Regardless of where this being ends up in the system, YOU must save him, support him and demand more of the same… for fear of losing your turn at the trough.
    As always, the U.S. has a soft spot for junkies… and parasites. Let’s hope this fellow sleeps soundly tonight. Lest my ears betray me, the noise coming out of D.C. is a clamor for and against more taxes, not a call to reform and cut. Govt. won’t make an example of this type… they are kindred spirits. Way too many politicians can’t fathom cutting and reigning in their bread and butter. And way too many voters (R and D) want their goodies. We will destroy ourselves from the inside, that much is very clear. Sorry, kids. And good luck.

    Report Post »  
    • The Gooch
      Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:55am

      Screw it… I’m not apologizing for either the govt. or the pigs who would eat their own. I know evil disguised as charity when I see it.
      Edit: Dear children, learn from this.

      Report Post »  
  • Smokey_Bojangles
    Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:37am

    I am still against drug testing for welfare,BUT these cards should only have specific uses with NO CASH OPTION!

    Report Post » Smokey_Bojangles  
    • greatgrandma
      Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:34am

      Why are you against drug testing in order to receive welfare?

      Report Post »  
    • Bill Rowland
      Posted on April 12, 2012 at 6:26am

      Yeah, why? You have to pass a drug test to work, even at Wal-Mart and if you have an on the job injury you wil be drug tested to make sure that drugs were not a contributing factor.
      If you are in the military you not only have to pass a drug test to enlist, you are subject to unannounced mandatory drug tests.
      Please explain to me why a welfare recipient should not be drug tested to qualify and face periodic testing to stay on welfare.
      They are recieving tax payer money, why shoudn’t they have to face the same standards as the taxpayer?

      OMG 2012

      Report Post »  
    • objectivetruth
      Posted on April 12, 2012 at 9:48am

      @greatgrandma and bill rowland
      If he lives in a state that has very strict rules then I see his point.Its a waste of time money and effort.Its just another form of enslavement.In these states food stamps are the largest and most open form of welfare and most don’t use them past the three month limit.These states don’t give welfare to single individuals without kids.Also these states only have food stamps on EBT cards.They can’t be used for anything else.NO cash payments are put on them.For any reason.Furthermore in some cases the food stamp card is held by someone working with either reduced hours or earning low wages.Does it make economic sense to test if they are already employed or otherwise legally earning money?No it doesn’t.

      Report Post »  
    • 1proud_Texan
      Posted on April 12, 2012 at 11:37am

      When I apply for a job, I’m usually drug tested. Why is drug testing for welfare any different?

      Report Post »  
  • hogtrashhd
    Posted on April 12, 2012 at 12:59am

    how is it that these strong bucks have to get welfare?? and he looks sorta black but i‘m sure he’s white.. must be.. everyone is white.. jews are white, hispanics are white so i suppose are chinese, koreans all except people who look black.. so i guess obama isn’t the first black president after all.. he’s white too.. according to the logic of the black leaders.. hmmmm curiouser and curiouser..

    Report Post »  
    • Brooke Lorren
      Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:30am

      Obama IS white… he’s just as white as he is black.

      As a parent of biracial kids, it is insulting to me when people want to deny a biracial person’s white heritage… my children’s European ancestry is just as important as their African ancestry.

      Report Post »  
    • The Gooch
      Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:51am

      BS… my home state has tens of thousands of worthless white junkies dependent upon gub’ment money and savvy at beating the system. If you’re gonna spout off and make this a racial issue, you do so with blinders firmly placed on your face. Hell, the powers that be just proudly passed a bill to throw more money at our junkies.

      Report Post »  
    • RebelYell1862
      Posted on April 12, 2012 at 5:51pm

      @BROOKE LORREN You’re just plain nasty.

      Report Post » RebelYell1862  
  • lukerw
    Posted on April 12, 2012 at 12:23am

    I guess that it is now… a Get Out Of Jail, Free, Card!

    Report Post » lukerw  
  • alleybee
    Posted on April 12, 2012 at 12:23am

    I like how people listen to the “allegedly” part of that story. There are a few things to point out here. #1-Food Stamps can never be withdrawn as cash from an EBT card. #2- Most states only post TANF (assistance for needy families) to an EBT card. So abuse of the EBT card for those only receiving food stamps is not possible in this scenario because there is no cash linked to those accounts.

    As for the comments regarding the type of food bought etc…I would like for you to imagine that you work hard, 7days a week even in a factory and then illness causes you to be put on disability from work while undergoing several surgical procedures and in order for your family to eat after you take on 50k in medical bills (after blue cross paid their share) you go on foodstamps. Do you want your purchases monitored, should you not eat healthy but only the cheapest foods available.

    I am a wife, mother, social worker, and care giver…and my family has had ups and downs offered assistance and been given assistance. I think it not my place to judge. If a wrong is committed it should be corrected. Should bail be postable with government benefits–not in my opinion. but my moral compass is based on the narrowness of my limited experiences in this world-as are many others that I see here tonight.

    Report Post »  
    • Psychosis
      Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:25am

      your clueless

      cash CAN be withdrawn from MAY states ebt cards

      Report Post » Psychosis  
    • NeoMouser
      Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:27am

      actually depending on the state you can get cash off your ebt card
      i know you can in Idaho.
      and the cash is NOT part of your food stamp allotment. it is a separate yet joined program.
      you have to file for the cash allotment at the time of/or once you get your approval for food stamps.
      heck the one time i filed for food stamp assistance the clerk just went ahead and checked to see if i was eligible for any cash assistance.(i wasn’t)

      Report Post »  
    • The Gooch
      Posted on April 12, 2012 at 2:03am

      Do I hear a not-so-subtle defense of one’s livelihood? I also work in social services. Waste and trickle down economics allows for way too many people to “help” those who CHOOSE to fail. I’m all for helping those who thru no fault of their own cannot make their way.
      You know where the call against all serious reform comes from? The agencies who take their cut off the top. Go figure.

      Report Post »  
  • woebegone
    Posted on April 12, 2012 at 12:17am

    Can I pay my tax bill with an EBT card? Oops sorry I forgot, I work under the table…Never mind.

    Report Post »  
  • Dde13
    Posted on April 12, 2012 at 12:08am

    This is where our “FAIR SHARE” is going…the gull to ask for more when they waste soooooooo much!!!

    Report Post »  
  • cantbelieveallthisgarbagecouldhappenwhodoislap
    Posted on April 11, 2012 at 11:57pm

    I started histaricly laughing when I saw this story! I go to a small town store ,and watch welfare card users ,get better steaks ,1st and the 15th stay out of the stores,overload on on ebtm shoppers.
    The point is , welfare reform has been a joke and still is! ha ha ha ha ha ha ! yep ocomunist care will work just as well,or worse, the dips in ca cant stack two pennies ,cause they already spent them, but true most ebtm users drive a lot better car than me. and I have only worked evey day from 16 to 43 guess Im the looser!

    Report Post » cantbelieveallthisgarbagecouldhappenwhodoislap  
  • Free_Thinker
    Posted on April 11, 2012 at 11:56pm

    I wish I was surprised by this.

    Report Post » Free_Thinker  
  • BradLee
    Posted on April 11, 2012 at 11:52pm

    You can’t take the jungle out of him, just like you can’t take the EBT card out of his hands.

    Report Post »  
    • The Gooch
      Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:46am

      Garbage. I could drive to scores of homes and point out all the lily-white trash living the exact same lifestyle. This thievery is not a “black” problem, it is an American problem.

      Report Post »  
    • Welcome Black Carter
      Posted on April 12, 2012 at 8:01am

      “This thievery is not a “black” problem”
      The little know dirty secret is 27% of blacks are on food stamps. Oh, I know… when you see MSM report #s you will always hear “there are more whites on assistance than blacks” Care to take a guess at the percentage of whites on food stamps? Try LESS than 1%…

      Report Post » Welcome Black Carter  
    • The Gooch
      Posted on April 12, 2012 at 11:22am

      That statistic was pulled from a place that is dark and smelly. But it sure is funny to see this turned into a racial issue.
      Own your bastards… or lie about it.
      1%… that’s rich.

      Report Post »  
  • Hungergamer
    Posted on April 11, 2012 at 11:49pm

    Poor guy, he must be a heroin addict which means he is disabled so he can’t work, how else is he supposed to get bail money. You guys just have no compassion here.

    Seriously though, this country is committing suicide, **** like this happens everyday, and now almost half of the country is on some type of gov assistance. How in the he’ll are we going to reverse this situation is beyond me. Obama is already planning on stealing the election, Holder will help of course, and you know that millions of dead democrat voters will be voting, because they don’t have to show I.D. I haven’t been this pessimistic for quite zoom time, but I believe we have just entered Banana republic territory , with Zimmerman getting arrested now because special pro. Didn’t need a grand jury, because she already had her mind made up.
    Glenn was right when he said that you would not recognize this country, he is the most truthful person I know. How can anyone doubt what he says is coming. If you do you are blind.

    Report Post »  
  • ColoradoMaverick
    Posted on April 11, 2012 at 11:40pm

    This is the new Obama hope and change mentality that is infecting peoples small brains.

    Report Post » ColoradoMaverick  
  • nomark
    Posted on April 11, 2012 at 11:34pm

    I did not know you could get cash out of an ATM with an EBT. That’s nuts!

    At some point people who pay their taxes to fund this kind of garbage will say “enough.”

    But how much is enough? What more do we have to put up with?

    Personally I’m looking for “slash and burn” candidates who will go in and end ALL of these government give away problems. Let’s just end them all and start over. We can do a better job because we’ll have decades worth of experiences to keep the fraud out from the start.

    It’s got to be better than this.

    I say end them all, let people fend for themselves for a few years. Maybe they will appreciate a job. Any job. Unemployment will plummet too.

    It’s a Win/Win.

    Report Post »  
    • dmforman
      Posted on April 12, 2012 at 9:01am

      A person who really pays taxes and complains about this, will be called racist. It’s the way of the democrats and black leaders like Jackson and Sharpton. They must keep the people down.

      Report Post »  
  • CatB
    Posted on April 11, 2012 at 11:29pm

    Any type of “welfare” should include DRUG TESTING .. I bet he would not have passed a random drug test .. if it is legal for workers it should be legal for DRUG DEALING WELFARE LOWLIFES.

    Report Post »  
    • Stoic one
      Posted on April 11, 2012 at 11:47pm

      Lots of employers REQUIRE a drug test of a prospective employee. Lowe’s & Home Depot come to mind. So if you want to be “employed” to receive welfare…… what is the problem?

      Report Post » Stoic one  
    • Smokey_Bojangles
      Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:40am

      The problem is THE CONSTITUTION! You want Guilty until proven innocent move to Cuba. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.Even for black people.

      Report Post » Smokey_Bojangles  
    • The Gooch
      Posted on April 12, 2012 at 1:43am

      The great social safety net must save everybody. It does not discriminate… white, black, native born or foreign, junky, whore… failure is a lifestyle choice in this country, not a natural consequence.

      Report Post »  
  • rtlane28
    Posted on April 11, 2012 at 11:27pm

    Let he who hasn’t tried to post bail with their Electronic Benefit Transfer card after being arrested for dealing heroin cast the first stone……..Come on, who amongst us hasn’t tried that before?

    Report Post » rtlane28  
  • HorseCrazy
    Posted on April 11, 2012 at 11:25pm

    free get out of jail card or get out of jail for free card. by free I mean while us law abiding tax paying citizens pay to incarcerate him, pay for his drug rehab, food stamps, probably just a guess here is many kids out of wedlock that are now stuck on government support.

    Report Post »  
    • toto
      Posted on April 11, 2012 at 11:34pm

      Don’t you just love “Obama money”.

      Report Post »  
  • lassiegirldawn
    Posted on April 11, 2012 at 11:23pm

    Probably has gsa as best clients

    Report Post »  
  • aueni
    Posted on April 11, 2012 at 11:15pm

    Just another reason to U/A anyone on P/A

    Report Post »  
  • Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
    Posted on April 11, 2012 at 11:10pm

    It could have been worse, he could have simply paid off the judge directly, with Food Stamps.

    Report Post » Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra  
  • blackyb
    Posted on April 11, 2012 at 11:07pm

    Besides this man looks black, indian, white and mid eastern all in the same batch. He deserves everything he can get. (don’t tell about the white, or his chances go down more to get what he is after.)

    Report Post » blackyb  
  • blackyb
    Posted on April 11, 2012 at 11:05pm

    What the hey. We pay for everything else. Why not. Let that man out. He needs a fix. LOL

    Report Post » blackyb  
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