Social Security, OIG Partner with State of South Dakota on Anti-Fraud Unit

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 27, 2017

 

The Social Security Administration (SSA), its Office of the Inspector General (OIG), and the South Dakota Office of the Attorney General today announced a new Cooperative Disability Investigations (CDI) Unit in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  As part of the nationwide CDI Program, the Sioux Falls Unit will identify and prevent Social Security disability fraud throughout the State of South Dakota.

 

CDI is one of Social Security’s most successful anti-fraud initiatives, contributing to the integrity of many Federal, State, and local assistance programs.  CDI brings together personnel from SSA, its OIG, State Disability Determination Services (DDS), and local law enforcement agencies to review suspicious or questionable Social Security disability claims and to investigate suspected cases of disability fraud.  CDI helps disability examiners make informed decisions, ensures payment accuracy, and generates significant taxpayer savings for Social Security and other programs.

 

“For 20 years, CDI has contributed to the integrity of Federal, State, and local benefit programs,” said Social Security Acting Inspector General Gale Stallworth Stone. “With the help of the South Dakota Office of the Attorney General, we will increase efforts to detect and prevent fraud and abuse in Social Security’s disability programs and related State and local programs, to preserve these benefits for South Dakota citizens who truly depend on them.”

 

The CDI program consists of 40 units covering 34 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Social Security and the OIG plan to establish additional CDI units in 2018 as part of an ongoing agency effort to combat disability fraud and preserve benefits for those who truly deserve them.

 

“Social Security is committed to combating fraud and preserving the public’s trust in our programs,” said Nancy A. Berryhill, Acting Commissioner of Social Security.  “As we dedicate the CDI Unit in Sioux Falls, let us remember the important work they do.  The CDI program plays a critical role in detecting and preventing fraud, helping to ensure benefits are paid only to the people who are eligible.  This collaboration between Social Security, the OIG, and the South Dakota Office of the Attorney General helps save taxpayer money and ensures the integrity of our programs.”

 

The Sioux Falls CDI Unit includes an OIG special agent, an SSA program expert, a State disability examiner from the South Dakota DDS, and investigators and an intelligence analyst from the South Dakota Office of the Attorney General, Division of Criminal Investigation.

 

“This special unit will focus on scammers who take money away from those who legitimately file claims and depend on these much needed resources,” said South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley.  “This is a cooperative law enforcement effort to weed out fraud and to protect those in need of assistance.”

 

SSA and its OIG jointly established the CDI program in 1997.  Since CDI was established, it has contributed to $3.7 billion in projected savings to Social Security’s programs, and $2.7 billion in projected savings to related Federal and State programs.  For more information on the CDI program, please visit the OIG website.

 

Public citizens who would like to report suspected disability fraud should contact the Social Security Fraud Hotline at https://oig.ssa.gov/report; send U.S. Mail to P.O. Box 17768, Baltimore, MD, 21235; fax (410) 597-0118; or call (800) 269-0271 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.

 

For more information, please contact Andrew Cannarsa, OIG Communications Director, at (410) 965-2671.