Michigan Human Services Partners With SSA To Spurn Disability Fraud
DETROIT (WWJ) -- A cooperative effort has been launched to crack down on disability fraud in Michigan, a state where 7,000 people receive disability benefits.
Social Security Administration inspector general Patrick P. O'Carroll announced a partnership with the Michigan Department of Human Services to form the Michigan Cooperative Disability Investigations Unit on Friday in Detroit.
"What we've been trying to do is to get the word out there that if somebody is going to be trying to defraud social security and/or any of the state programs, that we're out there looking, we're comparing our records, we're cooperating with each other and we're going to catch you," O'Carroll said.
O'Carroll said that the group will use different technologies to identify fraud, which can lead to violators facing penalties and fines.
"We see a person that says because of injuries to their body and their muscular skeletal systems that they're unable to work, and then we find out that they're working as a construction worker," O'Carroll said.
Director of the Michigan Department of Human Services, Maura Corrigan, said that the department saved $114 million related to fraud last year.
"We emphasize stopping fraud and preventing fraud waste and abuse," Corrigan said. "We owe this to the taxpayers."
To report disability fraud you can call: 1-800-222-8558