Questionable SSNs were used to obtain benefits from the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program and Paycheck Protection Program. Image: Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffLack of access to the SSA’s records of deaths continues to leave federal programs vulnerable to fraud, the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee has said agreeing with a recommendation from GAO to speed up a planned use of that data by the Treasury Department for its Do Not Pay initiative.
The PRAC noted that it had issued a fraud alert earlier this year that identified 69,000 questionable Social Security numbers used to obtain potentially fraudulent benefits from two pandemic relief programs, the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program and Paycheck Protection Program. In following up on that report, it found that the Social Security numbers of some 3,200 individuals had been used on applications in those programs, leading to some $38 million in improper or fraudulent payments.
It said that while the SBA began checking applications under those programs against the Do Not Pay system in early 2021, that system does not have full access to the SSA’s full “death master file,” which is the most authoritative data the government has on deaths.
The report noted that a 2021 budget law authorizes a three-year pilot project of sharing the full SSA file with the Treasury Department but that is not expected to begin until December of this year, and that GAO has recommended that Congress accelerate and make permanent that project.
“We concur with the GAO’s recommendation given how access to the DMF can help prevent deceased individuals’ identities being used to improperly apply for government benefits. A DNP system that contains the full DMF can give agencies a higher degree of certainty that a payee is legitimate and eligible before making an award or payment,” the PRAC said.
The National Academy of Public Administration last year similarly had recommended wider use by agencies of the SSA death records for programs such as workers’ compensation, child support enforcement, passport issuance and rural assistance programs.
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