He Only Got Probation

      From MyNewsLA.com:

A former employee of the Social Security Administration district office in the Antelope Valley who admitted stealing over $25,000 from beneficiaries was sentenced Thursday in federal court to probation and restitution.

Dion Bright Jr., 34, of Lancaster, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Fernando Olguin, who ordered restitution in the amount of the theft along with a year’s probation.

Bright pleaded guilty in July 2025 in downtown Los Angeles to a misdemeanor count of theft of government property.

As part of his job duties at the SSA field office in Lancaster, Bright would use a database to access claimants’ records to process claims for the aged, blind or disabled, and for workers who lost income due to physical or mental impairment.

During the scheme, from September 2022 to June 2023, Bright accessed beneficiaries’ SSA records, changed their mailing addresses so that they would not receive notices that their account information had been revised, and rerouted their benefits to a U.S. Bank account he controlled, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. …

Office Closures Today Due To Security Threat

      I am hearing that many Social Security offices around the country were ordered evacuated today due to some unspecified security threat. I don’t recall ever hearing about anything as widespread as this.

     Does anyone know details on this?

Charming Fellow

      From USA Today:

A man caught on video verbally berating a security guard and yelling racial slurs outside a Social Security office in an Atlanta suburb has been arrested, police say. …

Robert Burke, 65, was identified as the man at the center of a viral video showing him being escorted from the Social Security office as he threatened to physically harm the security guard. …

Burke is heard telling the security guard to "take a shot (expletive)" and saying he would "beat the (expletive)" out of him.

"I'm a (expletive) citizen," Burke continues, and then he refers to the security guard, who is Black, using a racial slur repeatedly.

As he walks into the parking lot, he yells back to the guard "What are you going to do, it's free speech" before continuing to use expletives and slurs. …

While this may have been the most explosive encounter, employees of the Social Security office told police Burke had been a problem before and had caused previous disturbances at that location. …

Scams Way Down Since 2020

      Social Security’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) has issued a Quarterly Scam Update. It says it’s the 18th such update but it’s the first time I’ve seen it. 

     The report shows that Social Security scams reached a peak in 2020 but went way down in 2022 and have stayed much lower. Maybe the Trump Administration will claim credit for the reduction.Surprisingly, at least to me, those under the age of 50 were the most likely to be scammed but older people showed larger losses.

Threats In Tupelo

      From the Daily Journal:

A Corinth [MS] man with a history of threatening federal employees has been charged with threatening to shoot workers at the Tupelo Social Security office.

James C. Curry Jr., 51, of Corinth, is accused of threatening employees at the Tupelo Social Security Administration office Tuesday, Dec. 16. He was arrested Monday in Lee County and taken into federal custody. He is currently incarcerated at the Lafayette County Detention Center, awaiting preliminary hearing Monday afternoon in U.S. District Court. …

$1.3 Million Dollar Scam

      From WGAL:

A social security imposter scammed two Lancaster County residents out of $1.3 million, according to Pennsylvania State Police. 

Troopers said two 78-year-olds from Providence Township fell victim to a person who posed as a Social Security Administration employee.   

The unknown suspect told the victims that one of their Social Security numbers was compromised and they needed a new one, according to police. 

Investigators said the imposter gave the victims detailed instructions to liquidate their retirement assets, stealing a total of $1,328,652. 

The suspect used the money to purchase gold that was collected by unknown individuals as payment under the guise of purchasing a new Social Security number, according to police. …

Man Charged With Threatening To Blow Up Field Office

     From WWNY TV: 

A Watertown [NY] man is accused of threatening to blow up a government office in the city.

City police charged 32-year-old Edmanuel Rivero-Vazquez with making a threat of mass harm.

During a meeting with staff at the Social Security Administration office on Bellew Avenue on Wednesday, Rivero-Vazquez allegedly threatened to blow up the building. ...

Where’s The $1 Trillion In Savings Musk Promised?

      From Brett Arends writing for Morningstar:

… I'm not surprised that President Donald Trump and the Social Security Administration put out the latest inspector-general report the day before Thanksgiving, when nobody is paying attention. 

It's yet another embarrassment. 

The latest 57-page report to Congress details a variety of Social Security frauds that took place under Trump's first administration, only to be caught, stopped and prosecuted ... er ... under Joe Biden. 

And it confirms what has long been suspected, and which will come as no surprise to MarketWatch readers: namely that Elon Musk and Trump were talking total nonsense for the first six months of this year, when they were claiming that there was a "huge" amount of fraud in Social Security, including hundreds of thousands of dead people claiming benefits. …

Threats Bring Charges In Cleveland

     From Cleveland.com:

A Cleveland man faces federal charges after authorities say he threatened to kill Social Security employees after he didn’t get his emergency disability check.

Aharon Meir Michoel Schur, 39, went to a Social Security Administration office twice and called the administration’s hotline several times to get his October check delivered to a new bank account, according to court records. 

When that didn’t happen, he made several threats— including threats to kill that he made on the phone and while he was at the Social Security Administration’s office on Waterloo Road in Cleveland, according to court records. …

On Sept. 30, Schur went to the Waterloo Road office to update his direct deposit information to a new bank account, according to court records. 

He hadn’t received his check by Oct. 6 and called the administration. The call was recorded, and an employee in Arizona told Schur that he needed to go in person to an office and take steps to obtain a “dire need” payment. 

Schur became upset during the call, saying that the delay put him and his son in dire need of money and that he may not be able to pay his rent, court records say. …

He said on the call several times that he was going to attack workers at the Waterloo building and burn the building down, court records say. 

“Play with my m-------------g family, I will kill everybody over my family and their well being, ma’am,” he said, according to court records. “I don’t give a f—k if this is a recorded line.” 

Schur made the threats while driving to the office, according to court records. 

He told the employee on the phone that he arrived at the office, that he was going to kill everyone inside and wanted her to stay on the phone so she could listen to it, court records say. 

Employees at the Waterloo Road office didn’t know of the threats until after Schur left, according to court records. A security guard stopped Schur after noticing he was yelling on the phone, court records say. 

An employee ultimately reissued the payment to Schur’s new bank account. …

The Commissioner Has A Serious Problem Related To The Company He Used To Run

      From Financial Advisor:

Social Security Administration Commissioner Frank Bisignano’s move into government couldn’t have been better timed, helping the former Fiserv Inc. chief avoid hundreds of millions of dollars in losses from the company’s plunging stock price. 

After the former Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. executive was tapped by President Donald Trump this year to lead the SSA, he agreed to resign from Fiserv and divest his stake, including common stock, options, restricted stock units and performance equity grants. Bisignano, 66, was also named CEO of the Internal Revenue Service earlier this month. 

Following his resignation, the restricted stock and a portion of the performance grants vested, giving him more than 3.2 million Fiserv shares worth roughly $594 million when he was confirmed to his role in May.  

Bisignano sold Fiserv stock between May 16 and July 1, according to ethics filings. Based on the average share price during the period, the shares would have fetched roughly $530 million. He later confirmed in a filing that he had completed the divestment.  

The same shares today are worth just $229 million—meaning that selling earlier in the year avoided losses of about $300 million. 

Accepting the government role gave Bisignano another valuable perk. In May, he was granted a certificate of divestiture, deferring capital gains tax on the Fiserv sales provided he invested the proceeds in approved assets such as Treasury bills or broadly-based mutual funds. 

Bisignano didn’t respond to messages seeking comment. 

More than half of Bisignano’s potential losses would have come Wednesday, when the payment company’s shares suffered a record plunge of more than 40% after it slashed its full-year earnings outlook and delivered third-quarter results well short of analysts’ estimates. 

     Did the serious problems at Fiserv only begin AFTER Bisignano left? That seems unlikely on the face of it. Was Bisignano aware of the problems BEFORE he left? That seems likely. If he knew of major problems, why hadn’t he told investors?  If he knew, why was he selling stock based upon inside information? 

     The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would ordinarily investigate this sort of thing but this is the Trump Administration. Nobody in the Trump Administration gets investigated. However, they can’t stop shareholder litigation and I would expect that soon. Bisignano will have to answer questions under oath. 

     By the way, Bisignano needs two lawyers, one for the possible securities litigation and the other for possible criminal charges. Trump won’t be in office forever. Unless he gets a pardon, Bisignano could face criminal charges later. 

     This seems like it could be  a serious distraction to a man with two jobs.

      Update: The litigation has already begun.

     Further Update: Here’s an explanation of what is being alleged:

… Fiserv faces a federal securities class-action lawsuit in the Southern District of New York that accuses the company of inflating growth figures for its Clover payments platform. The complaint alleges Fiserv forced merchants on its older and more affordable Payeezy system to move to Clover while claiming that growth came from new customers. Those migrations allegedly artificially boosted short-term revenue and transaction volumes forecasts which in turn hid slowing organic expansion. When many merchants decided to switch to lower-cost rivals such as Square and Toast, Clover’s performance faltered. According to the lawsuit, former CEO Frank Bisignano told investors in 2023 that 90% of Clover’s revenue growth would come from new merchants and just 10% from existing clients, even as the company moved roughly 200,000 Payeezy merchants to Clover through mid-2024. That shift helped lift Clover’s 2024 revenue to $2.7 billion on $310 billion in gross payment volume, but by early 2025, gross payment volume growth slowed to 8%, down from 14%-17% the year before. …

Attack On Field Office In Virginia

     From WSET:

The Social Security office in Lynchburg [VA] was the target of a threat of violence on Friday. …

According to law enforcement at the scene, a message was left at the site, threatening to "come back and shoot you all up."

The office facade was also visibly egged, and something on the sidewalk outside the building had been set on fire. We haven't been able to confirm what exactly was lit on fire, but the wall has what appears to be smoke damage running up the side. …

If Bisignano Signs Off On This, He’d Better Hope For A Pardon Before Trump Leaves Office

      From the Wall Street Journal:

There’s Always A New Scam

      From a press release:

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for the Social Security Administration (SSA) is warning the public about a new government imposter scam. This scam comes in the form of an official-looking letter identified as a “certificate” on fake U.S. Supreme Court letterhead using forged signatures of U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. This high-pressure scam urges individuals to cooperate with the named SSA official, pressuring them to send money or share personal information.

The scam letter is personally addressed to the recipient and claims they are a primary suspect in connection with legal proceedings and criminal charges. The letter may use the real name of an SSA executive and claim that the proceedings “are conducted with the oversight of Attorney General Raúl Torrez” of New Mexico. The letter further claims that according to findings from SSA and the incorrectly named “Drug Enforcement Agency,” the recipient may have been subjected to identity theft, noting that their Social Security number (SSN) has been compromised. The letter states that SSA will issue a new SSN. …

Now This Is Disgusting

      From the Worcester [MA] Telegram & Gazette:

A former employee of the Gardner Social Security office, who prosecutors said solicited sex from a mother who came into his office crying after losing her job, was sentenced to six months in federal prison Aug. 22.  …

“Big Balls” Carjacked

      From the Washington Post:

A protégé of Elon Musk and former DOGE staffer was injured in an attempted carjacking early Sunday morning in D.C., two people familiar with the incident said, in an attack that captured the attention of President Donald Trump and reinspired his threats to take over the nation’s capital.
 …

Billionaire Elon Musk, who helmed DOGE, wrote on X that a DOGE “team member” was attacked and called to federalize D.C. The two people familiar with the incident identified the victim as Edward Coristine [who worked at Social Security] who is also known by the nickname “Big Balls.” …

Employee Fraud In Georgia

       From WDUN in Gainesville, GA:

A former Social Security Administration (SSA) employee from Winder pled guilty to theft of government property and aggravated identity theft. 

According to U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia Theodore S. Hertzberg, 47-year-old Christina Daniels used her position at the SSA office in Norcross to change the direct deposit information for approximately 28 beneficiaries.  …

The crimes allegedly happened between January 2023 to May 2024. As a customer service representative, Daniels allegedly stole more than $110,000. …

Man Bites Dog Story

      From NBC Miami:

A security guard accused of attacking an elderly man at a Social Security office in Miami-Dade was arrested on Monday, police said.

Peter Vegliante was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and battery of a person 65 or older.

According to police, the 44-year-old Vegliante works for BTI Security, which is a contractor that provides services at federal buildings. …

Police said that surveillance video captured the moment when Vegliante placed the 86-year-old man in a headlock and then forced him to the ground.

The elderly man suffered injuries and it's not clear what sparked the incident.

Big Employee Fraud

      From a press release:

 A former Social Security employee has admitted to conspiracy and aggravated identity theft, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. 

David Lam, 45, Pearland, was an operations supervisor and claims specialist for the Social Security Administration (SSA) office in Houston. …

Lam admitted to working with various coconspirators—typically, women with children—to file fraudulent survivor benefits applications listing the deceased men as the children’s fathers or stepfathers. If true, this would have entitled the women to receive benefits while raising their children as widows. However, the women had no connection to the men listed on the applications and the deceased men did not father the children. To facilitate his scheme, Lam would utilize the deceased men’s names, dates of birth and death and Social Security numbers. 

He would also instruct the coconspirators to split the stolen funds with him. The women would transfer funds via applications like Zelle, CashApp or Chime. Lam agreed to take responsibility for causing $3,346,280 in loss to the SSA and has agreed to pay that amount in restitution.    …

A New Scam

      From Social Security’s Office of Inspector General:

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for the Social Security Administration (SSA) is warning the public about a growing scam involving fraudulent remote job offers falsely claiming to be associated with SSA or other government agencies.

Scammers are posing as hiring personnel or recruiters and offering fictitious remotepositions — such as “administrative assistant,” “claims processor,” or “virtual benefits coordinator.” These scammers may use fake SSA email addresses, official-looking documents, or spoofed phone numbers.

Scammers may ask for personal information such as Social Security numbers, banking details, or copies of government-issued IDs. Victims may be told to pay for training materials or computer equipment as a condition of employment. …

LOL: “Bisignano Coming To Dislike DOGE.” AI Not Ready For Prime Time. Who Could Have Predicted?

       From the Washington Post:

The U.S. DOGE Service arrived at the Social Security Administration this year determined to slash staff and root out what it claimed was widespread fraud and wasteful spending — a mission Elon Musk’s cost-cutting team has pursued across the government.
But as of this week, many of the major changes DOGE pushed at Social Security have been abandoned or are being reversed after proving ineffective, while others are yielding unintended consequences and badly damaging customer service and satisfaction. The problems come as the agency struggles to cope with a record surge of hundreds of thousands of retirement claims in recent months. …

Social Security is poorly positioned to handle the influx [of new retirement claims], according to several staffers, as well as records obtained by The Post. Thousands of employees have taken the Trump administration’s early resignation offer or its early retirement offer, depleting the workforce and leaving some offices wholly bereft of staff, emails show. A DOGE-led move to slash staffing levels spurred many senior administrators scared of getting fired to accept reassignment to lower-level field office positions, slowing claims processing further as those employees are trained, according to employees and records. …

Bisignano is coming to dislike DOGE and hopes to minimize the team’s influence, the officials said. Another official, however, said Bisignano wants to “partner” with DOGE. …

DOGE staffers came to Social Security vowing to end fraudulent claims filed by scammers and grifters, and convinced that much of that activity was perpetrated over the phone, The Post previously reported. Career staff attempted to explain that wasn’t true, but to no avail, according to three current and former employees familiar with the matter. DOGE proposed ending phone service for retirement and disability claims, then narrowed its proposal after backlash from older claims recipients, advocates and lawmakers — then abandoned the idea.
Staff on the IT side developed a solution they hoped would pacify DOGE: A three-day hold on phone calls to allow extra checking for fraud, the employees said. Everyone, from rank-and-file career staff up to Dudek, knew the phone fraud check was not needed, the employees said. But they did it anyway.
“People lacked the fortitude to tell DOGE there was no fraud because they were afraid to lose their jobs,” one former high-ranking official said, referring specifically to claims filed by telephone. “They knew there was no fraud.” …

When a Post reporter called the [agency]phone line Friday afternoon, it took eight attempts to get transferred to an agent. The AI bot asked the reporter several times to end the call and gave unrelated information about a cost-of-living adjustment, Medicare Part B’s premium and benefits available to people after the retirement age.