Inspector General's Office Releases Semiannual Report to Congress

Date: 
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Management Issue: 
Improve Transparency and Accountability
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jonathan Lasher
Phone: (410) 965-2671
 
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for the Social Security Administration (SSA) yesterday released its Semiannual Report to Congress, covering the period April 1, 2011 through September 30, 2011. The report is available here.
 
In accordance with the requirements of the Inspector General Act, the report highlights the OIG’s significant audit, investigative, and legal accomplishments during the second half of Fiscal Year 2011. The report is transmitted to Congress and made available to the public.
 
For the reporting period, the OIG reported the following:
  • OIG agents closed more than 3,800 criminal investigations, resulting in more than 630 indictments and informations, 320 arrests, 670 criminal convictions (including pretrial diversions), and 50 civil judgments/civil monetary penalty (CMP) assessments.
  • OIG auditors issued 50 reports and made recommendations on a wide variety of challenges facing the Agency, including reviews of SSA’s efforts to reduce the level of pending disability claims and the hearings backlog.  
  • OIG attorneys resolved 51 CMP cases that involved false statements, representations, or omissions made in connection with obtaining or retaining Social Security benefits or payments.

In the second half of FY 2011, OIG agents reported over $223 million in investigative accomplishments; OIG auditors identified more than $1.4 billion in questioned costs, and more than $1 billion in Federal funds that could be put to better use; and OIG attorneys imposed more than $2.1 million in penalties and assessments through the CMP program.

Inspector General Patrick P. O’Carroll, Jr, said, “I am proud of this office’s unwavering dedication to inspiring confidence in the integrity and security of SSA’s programs, as we strive to guard them against fraud, waste, and abuse.”

The SSA Office of the Inspector General is directly responsible for promoting economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in the administration of SSA programs and operations, and for  preventing and detecting fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement in such programs and operations.

For more information, please contact Jonathan Lasher, OIG’s Assistant Inspector General for External Relations, at (410) 965-2671.