Fraud by Disability Beneficiaries

[Pat Kelly <Not4Pat@Bellsouth.Net>]

I am compelled to preface my comments with the fact that I am a
former disability determination examiner and Social Security
disability para-legal.  I have the hands-on experience, therefore,
in dealing with both Social Security disability claimants and
Social Security offices, to include Offices of Hearing & Appeals.
Barbara Brandon makes reference in her summary to FAQ 7.10 
regarding Fraud by Disability Beneficiaries.  There IS fraud!
SSA has no enforcement arm to investigate such fraud.  A yearly
(or every two or three years) continuing disability review (CDR)
is not solving the problem, but only perpetuates the problem.  
An investigator, contracting with Social Security to investigate
fraud, could work on a percentage basis (10% for example) and save
SSA thousands.  For example:  365 days - 104 (weekends) = 261 - 7
7 holidays = 254 workdays divided by 5 (investigative days) = 50.8
x $6,000.00 (monthly benefit of $500 per year) = $304,800 potential
savings from one SSA office.  If there is an average of 5 SSA 
offices per state, then SSA has potential savings of $304800 x 250
(5 x 50 states) = $76,200,000.00 - $7,620,000 (10% investigators' 
fees) = $68,580,000.00 SSA savings.  My problem is that we know
fraud occurs, but SSA and Congress lack the leadership to get the 
problem fixed.  When I was a Social Security para-legal for a law
firm, I had a client win his Title II claim in Federal court.  Two
days after the client was notified, he called me to determine how
soon he would get his back-benefits check ($20,000 plus).  He was
asking because he was purchasing a new Bass boat.  The boat shop 
that he was purchasing his boat from accepted the court's decision
as evidence that he would be able to afford the $15,000 plus boat.
He just wanted to know if I had an idea of how soon he would get
his check so he could let the salesman know.  Now, what's wrong
with this picture? Is this an isolated case?  If a person has the
physical residual functional capacity to perform the tasks it 
takes to launch a boat, then that person is capable of performing
(at a minimum) sedentary work.