Treasury Dept recoups $31 million in payments to dead people
The Treasury Department made headlines this week with the announcement of recouping over $31 million in fraud and improper payments to deceased individuals in just five months. This achievement was made possible through access to the Social Security Administration’s federal death database. The Treasury Department is responsible for issuing billions of payments annually, including benefit payments, state-administered payments, and various other payments. The issue of mistakenly sending funds to deceased individuals has long plagued the federal government, as highlighted by fiscal watchdog group OpenTheBooks.
In a report from 2020, the Government Accountability Office revealed that during the first round of COVID-19 stimulus checks, $1.4 billion was distributed to deceased individuals. Throughout all three rounds of stimulus checks during the pandemic, nearly $3.6 billion was mistakenly sent to individuals who had passed away. The Social Security Administration maintains the only database that records the deaths of U.S. citizens. In 2023, Congress granted the Treasury Department temporary access to this database to prevent improper payments to deceased individuals. This access is set to expire in 2026.
John Hart, executive director of OpenTheBooks, expressed optimism about the recouped funds, emphasizing the importance of interagency communication in preventing improper payments. He noted that the Internal Revenue Service’s failure to cross-check the SSA’s death database resulted in nearly $4 billion in stimulus payments being sent to deceased individuals. Additionally, the Small Business Administration inadvertently sent over $3 billion in forgivable loans to entities on the Treasury Department’s ‘Do Not Pay’ list.
Despite the progress in recovering funds, Hart stressed that there is still much work to be done in tackling improper payments. Fiscal Assistant Secretary David Lebryk echoed this sentiment, stating that the recovered payments were just the beginning. Lebryk emphasized the need for Congress to grant permanent access to the Full Death Master File, which would significantly reduce fraud, enhance program integrity, and safeguard taxpayer dollars.
Overall, the Treasury Department’s successful efforts in recouping funds from deceased individuals demonstrate the importance of data-sharing and collaboration among government agencies. By leveraging technology and access to vital databases, the government can mitigate fraud and ensure that taxpayer funds are used appropriately.
