Call Today: 1-800-890-2262

Ginsberg Law Offices

Tag Archives for Social Security fraud

Payment Processing Mistakes Made by Social Security Result in Accusations of Claimant Fraud

SSD overpaymentsYou are going to be hearing a lot about Social Security disability fraud in coming months.  With the disability trust fund about to run out of money, Congress will find itself moving money from other programs into the disability fund to shore it up.

With their attention drawn to the disability programs, legislators will demand more accountability from Social Security administrators.  Fraud against the program will be a focus.

A recent USA Today story about fraud was entitled Feds: 36,000 Get Improper Disability.  The news article cited a GAO report showing that Social Security issued $1.3 billion in disability payments to people who had jobs from December, 2010 through January, 2013 and that Social Security is going to aggressively pursue recovery of these overpayments.

According to the news story Social Security has trouble tracking earnings during the five month waiting period applicable in SSDI claims.  Claimant earnings did not reach the wage-earner’s record and Social Security issued payment for months where an approved claimant was not eligible.

While this USA Today story and others like it are sure to inflame the passions of those who are convinced that 80% of disability claims are fraudulent, the truth is a little less newsworthy. Continue reading →

Immigrant gets prison time for stealing from the SSA

This past November, Mohammad Husseini was sentenced to six months prison time and ordered to pay back the $111,000 he “stole” from the Social Security Administration. The behind bars59-year-old immigrant from Afghanistan, who became a U.S. citizen in 1978, had been fraudulently receiving Social Security Disability benefits since 1999.

In 1990, Husseini suffered a work-related injury and applied for and received Social Security disability payments, court documents said. Of course, as is always the case when one is approved for benefits, Husseini had to agree to notify the SSA if he again obtained employment at a later date. However, when Husseini got a job in 1999 working for Catholic Charities, he decided he’d take another route.

Instead of using his own Social Security number, he simply gave the charity organization his brother’s Social Security number. This way, his earnings would not be reported to the government, and he could thus continue receiving the Social Security Disability payments despite his work status. Husseini didn’t report his change of work status until April of 2006, after he had already fraudulently collected approximately $111,000 in disability payments.

When Husseini’s case was brought to court, prosecutors sought a swift and severe penalty for his fraudulent actions. The Judge overseeing the case apparently sided with the prosecutors, and Husseini was thus sentenced to jail time and ordered to pay back the money.

Let this be a lesson to anyone who is on disability and then returns to work. Always be sure to report your back to work status if you end up gaining employment while on Social Security Disability!

Top