Dead people and prisoners are two groups of Americans that are not supposed to be receiving Social Security benefits. With many legitimately disabled Americans waiting a long time to begin receiving disability benefits, payments to the dead and imprisoned siphon money away from those truly in need. More details on filing for SSDI or SSI disability benefits are available from a Tulsa Social Security Disability lawyer.
One of the more common findings for Social Security Administration (“SSA”) investigators is people continuing to cash benefits checks on behalf of deceased relatives or friends. One Florida woman in March cashed over $70,000 in benefits checks, as neighbors complained of a foul stench emanating from her home. Authorities eventually found the woman’s dead mother in her house.
In 2008, two New York men dressed up their dead roommate and wheeled him in a wheel chair to cash the man’s disability check. A detective eating lunch nearby thought something looked funny and called in other officers to investigate. They discovered that the man was in fact dead.
In Iowa, a convicted sex offender received almost $70,000, all while he was in prison. The man went to prison in December of 2006 and was supposed to stop receiving benefits at that time. However, he worked with someone on the outside, and that person received and cashed the benefits checks that continued to arrive until April 2010.
Troutman & Troutman, P.C. – Tulsa Social Security Disability attorneys
