Office of the Inspector General, SSA
Social Security Administration
SSN Misuse: Family of Five Fraudulently Receives Survivors’ Benefits
Date:
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Management Issue:
Office Affiliation:
An applicant for a liquor license used two SSNs, one of which contained death information. An investigation conducted by our Greensboro, NC office revealed that the man’s five family members fraudulently received Title II survivor’s benefits based on the SSN containing the death information.
The fraudulent entitlement to the survivors’ benefits, which started in 2001, resulted in an incorrect payment to the family of over $98,000.
In December 2010, after the man pled guilty to theft of money from the United States, a U.S. District Court judge sentenced him to 12 months of incarceration, and three years’ probation and ordered restitution of $98,355 to SSA.
