Social Security Administration (SSA) officials gave $5.8 million to dead Californians and sent checks living people being listed as dead, a government watchdog reported Tuesday.
“SSA was issuing benefit payments to 83 individuals whose [personally identifiable information] matched that of individuals who died,” the SSA Inspector General (IG) report said. (RELATED: Social Security Administration Sends $165 Million To DEAD People)
“SSA did not terminate benefit payments when the [beneficiaries] died and approved claims identity thieves filed,” the report continued. “As a result, SSA issued approximately $5.8 million in improper payments to 33 beneficiaries who died in California from 1970 through 2004.”
SSA officials terminated benefits and updated death records in response to the IG’s findings.