From the Daily Mail, a British newspaper:
More than a million people have failed to qualify for state sick benefits since tough fitness tests were brought in.
The million – around three quarters of all new disability benefit claims – were found fit to work or have dropped their claims after doctors examined whether they were really disabled. ...
Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith now plans to reassess the existing 2.6 million long-term claimants on IB [Incapacity Benefit].
Update: And there is this from the Janesville, WI Gazette:More victims are emerging after Dubuque police sent out a warning about a Social Security scam.
Joseph Murphy is now in the Dubuque County Jail. Police say he pretended to be a Social Security benefits advocate, convincing several people to give him cash, which he kept for himself. ...
Police say Murphy set up a fake business called American Disability Entitlements.
He’d promise to help people who needed Social Security benefits start their paperwork. ...
The victims tell police Murphy demanded cash or credit card numbers up front. ...
Baxter says Murphy could also have victims in Wisconsin and Illinois. If you think you may be a victim, contact Dubuque police.
Did this fellow ever qualify as a non-attorney representative?An Edgerton native with a local history of fraud and harassment now is accused of bilking more than $30,000 from two Sheboygan residents, one of whom is mentally disabled. ...Murphy has been in and out of prison on theft and probation violation cases and often has sought out media attention.
In 1997, for example, he made national news after he complained to the media that the Social Security Administration branch in Janesville did not protect him from himself when it gave him almost $50,000 in back benefits. Murphy claimed he had a gambling problem and that he gambled away the money. ...
In the recent Sheboygan County case, a 47-year-old Sheboygan man told police he contacted Murphy so the man could get disability payments. Murphy listed himself in the yellow pages under American Disability Entitlements.
According to the complaint, Murphy over several weeks pressured the man to give him about $30,000. ...
In January 2009, Murphy aired a commercial in the Janesville area advertising the same company and seeking clients. ...
“Twenty-five years ago I was disabled and unable to work,” Murphy said in the commercial. “I was frustrated with the red legal tape, so I researched the Social Security laws and what I was entitled to. And I was just one case.
“Did you know there are up to 75,000 new disability claims in Wisconsin per year? If you are unable to work due to a physical or mental condition and are having trouble collecting Social Security disability benefits, please give me a call. I’m the little guy who will fight for what you are entitled to.”
Our review focused on SSA’s [Social Security Administration's] debt collection arrangements in the SSI [Supplemental Security Income] program. Since Fiscal Year (FY) 2002, the percent of outstanding SSI debt in a collection arrangement has decreased. Specifically, between FYs 2002 and 2010, SSI debt in a collection arrangement decreased by more than 5 percent. SSA stated resource constraints in the SSI program have caused the Agency to shift focus from debt collection activities and other program integrity workloads to maintain front-line services.
During FYs 2008 through 2011, we estimated, based on historical SSI collection rates, that SSA could have recovered an additional $200 million of SSI debt. This could have been accomplished if SSA had placed an additional $441 million of outstanding SSI debt into collection arrangements at the FY 2002 level during FYs 2008 through 2010.
William Joseph Murphy, 44, (currently incarcerated in the Dubuque County Jail) is the focus of an ongoing theft investigation involving fraudulent social security disability advocacy. Anyone who may have been deceived by Murphy and/or his company, American Disability Entitlements, LLC, is asked to contact Investigator David Randall at 563-589-4429.
The White House is warning that catastrophe will strike if Congress fails to raise the limit on the national debt: With too little cash to pay creditors, the U.S. government would default. Interest rates would skyrocket. And the economic recovery would collapse. ...
So far, the Treasury has nearly drained a $200 billion cash-management account at the Fed, providing a cushion of money to pay bills without new borrowing. Next, Geithner is likely to take a series of “extraordinary actions,” such as suspending the issuance of special securities that help state and local governments manage their own finances. Once the debt hits the limit, Geithner may declare a “debt issuance suspension period,” permitting him to borrow from the pension fund for federal workers.
[Robert] Rubin [Treasury Secretary in the Clinton Administration] pioneered these strategies in 1995, at the start of the budget battles between President Bill Clinton and Republicans led by House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.). As the fight dragged on through two government shutdowns, Rubin had to juggle the nation’s bills for 135 days. Finally, Clinton threatened to delay Social Security checks, spurring Congress to approve more borrowing to make sure the checks went out on time.
A Group of NADE leaders (President Andrew Martinez, Past President Susan Smith, President-elect Tom Ward and Legislative Director and Past President Jeff Price) traveled to Washington, DC the week of April 11-15 for a series of meetings with SSA, Congress and Governmental oversight agencies. This group canvassed our Nation’s Capital seeking support for NADE’s Top Issues (see front cover) as well as general support for NADE and SSA. The message delivered by the NADE leadership was very specific and both political parties and both houses of Congress were receptive to NADE’s message. ...Don't worry, NADE, reconsideration isn't going anywhere. There are many good reasons to wish it gone but doing away with it would be way too expensive. Do worry, NADE, about the editing of your newsletter. An article continued from page 24 to page 8 -- and page 24 said it was continued to page 9!
NADE is on record as supporting an enhanced reconsideration appeal step but the NADE leadership discovered an over-riding concern among Members of Congress, the claimant advocate community and others was the question, “Does reconsideration have a future?” After lengthy discussions with SSA, with congressional representatives, and with others who have an interest on this issue, it was agreed NADE should investigate its long-standing position to determine if it was still relevant. The true value and effectiveness of this intermediate appeal step should be the subject of serious study to determine its role in the 21st century.
