Litigation

Defendants cheat Social Security, but claim it?s the government?s fault

By Tracy Coenen

If there’s one silver lining to this case, it’s that the defendants are apparently admitting that they cheated Social Security. But now the bigger problem is that they’re saying it’s the government’s fault.

Last month 83 people were charged with participating in a $663,000 fraud that spanned 15 years. The defendants are accused of falsely telling the Social Security Administration that their benefit checks were lost. They would receive a replacement check, and cash both the replacement and the original (which was never really lost).

But in true American style, the defendants say it’s not their fault. It’s actually the government’s fault that they stole money with this scheme. How could it be the government’s fault? The defense says that when the government found that both checks were cashed, they asked the defendants to repay it. *gasp* Really? (more…)

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Full post as published by The FRAUDfiles Blog on February 25, 2008 (boomark / email).