http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303933104579306270271026090Sickening beyond words knowing my taxes in this state pay for this shit.
Federal and local investigators plan to arrest 106 people Tuesday as part of one of the largest Social Security disability fraud busts in U.S. history, a person familiar with the arrests said, alleging that a number of former New York fire department and police officials improperly obtained benefits by cheating the application process.
Several dozen arrests had been made early Tuesday and more were expected before a 1 p.m. press conference in New York. The arrests are being carried out in about 10 states.
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Disability Fraud Bust Comes as Social Security Agency Is in Flux
In addition to 102 Social Security disability beneficiaries, authorities are expected to arrest four people who helped them navigate the disability application process and coach them on how to get benefits, the person said. This includes one lawyer, one disability consultant, and two "recruiters," the person said.
Federal and local prosecutors are expected to allege that scheme led to $24 million in fraudulent disability payments, the person said. A second person familiar with the arrests said the defendants claimed they were "unable to work at any job or leave their homes but had very active lives."
The arrests come less than six months after federal and local authorities arrested more than 70 people in Puerto Rico on disability fraud charges. A former Social Security employee allegedly helped former employees at a pharmaceutical plant there obtain benefits.
The Social Security Administration is under pressure from Congress to explain what it is doing to tighten up the disability application process following a number of recent scandals. The Social Security Disability Insurance program has close to 11 million beneficiaries, and workers must prove they have physical or mental health problems that prevent them from working. The program has grown so quickly that it could have to begin cutting benefits for all recipients in 2016 unless Congress intervenes.
—Pervaiz Shallwani contributed to this article.
Write to Damian Paletta at damian.paletta@wsj.com