The Social Security Administration's Ability to Prevent and Detect Disability Fraud

In January 2014, Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Sam Johnson requested that the OIG perform a “top-to-bottom review” of the Social Security Disability Insurance program, specifically to determine how recently uncovered fraud schemes in New York, Puerto Rico, and West Virginia could have occurred.  As part of that request, Chairman Johnson asked the OIG to identify what the Social Security Administration (SSA) needs to do to prevent such fraud schemes in the future.

This Special Report, The Social Security Administration’s Ability to Prevent and Detect Disability Fraud, identifies the degree to which SSA does or does not have the infrastructure, systems, or policies in place to adequately identify potential fraud or manage and respond to fraud risks, particularly with regard to conspiracies such as those in New York and Puerto Rico.  It examines efforts to improve these systems and processes, and identifies what needs to be done to prevent and detect large-scale disability fraud schemes, as well as individual fraud cases.

Click on the cover or the PDF link below to view the report.