Social Security, Welfare and Disability Benefit Cheats - Information and Reporting
Social Security benefits including Welfare, Pensions and Disability Insurance systems, which are supposed to support seniors, the unemployed, and persons with a disability, are often abused by cheats.
Benefit fraud is when people deliberately fail to report a change in their circumstances or lie in order to claim disability payments, welfare, housing and/or tax benefits that they might not otherwise be entitled to. All benefit fraud is a crime.
According to a White House, improper Social Security payments of all kinds, from criminal fraud to clerical errors, cost Americans a total of $110 billion in 2009.
Reporting a Social Security Benifit Cheater:
Social Security, and equivalent welfare offices in other countries, take hundreds of calls in confidence everyday from people reporting suspected benefit thieves. If you suspect someone may be receiving a benefit they may not be entitled to, you can make an anonymous complaint at your local Department of Social Security so they can investigate and take appropiate action. You can contact the agency via its website or by telephone, or visit your local Social Security office in person. You will suffer no legal consequences as long as you made the complaint in good faith.
Persons proved guilty of benefit theft may face:
- A fine
- A criminal record
- A community order
- Prosecution through the courts
- Being named and shamed in the local media.
- A prison sentence, or suspended prison sentence
- Having to pay back all the money they have illegally claimed in full as well as any court costs that have been incurred
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