June 19, 2017 4:54PM # Disability Fraud By [Chris Edwards](https://www.cato.org/people/chris-edwards) --- SHARE The federal government runs more than 2,300 subsidy programs, and they are all susceptible to fraud and other types of improper payments. The EITC program, for example, [throws about $18 billion](https://www.downsizinggovernment.org/earned-income-tax-credit) down the drain each year in such payments. Perhaps the program that generates the most outrageous rip-offs is the $150 billion Social Security Disability (SSDI) program. From [the *Washington Post* today](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/06/16/fbi-still-looking-for-fugitive-attorney-who-orchestrated-600-million-government-fraud/?utm_term=.3695150589ea): > Eric Conn, the fugitive attorney who pleaded guilty to orchestrating a scheme to defraud the federal government of $600 million, remains at large since he cut off his court-ordered GPS monitoring bracelet on June 2…Conn in March entered guilty pleas to defrauding the Social Security Administration via bribes he paid to a doctor and a judge to process and approve his clients’ disability claims. > > > From 2006 to 2016, Conn processed 1,700 client applications for Social Security benefits with a potential of $550 million in lifetime benefits. Since the revelation of the allegations, the Social Security Administration has contacted many of Conn’s former clients with claims they owe as much as $100,000 for disability payments going back 10 years unless they can prove they have been disabled the entire time… > > > Conn’s fraud scheme was fueled by television advertisements that included a 3‑D television ad from 2010 and one from 2009 in which Conn hired YouTube star “Obama Girl” and Bluegrass music legend Ralph Stanley to sing a version of “Man of Constant Sorrows” with new lyrics that refer to Conn as a “superhero without a cape” and to brag that Conn had “learned Spanish off of a tape.” In a rap video, Conn billed himself as Hispanic-friendly: “Even if you’re Latino, no need to worry cuz this gringo speaks the lingo.” One greedy lawyer, a corrupt doctor and judge, some jingoism, and our government gets ransacked for $600 million. That’s not very comforting to taxpayers, is it? In [his study of SSDI](https://www.downsizinggovernment.org/ssa/social-security-disability-insurance) for Down​siz​ing​Gov​ern​ment​.org, Tad Dehaven said, “SSDI is a classic example of a well-intentioned effort to provide modest support to truly needy people that has exploded into a massive entitlement that is driving up the federal deficit.” DeHaven proposed these SSDI reforms: - Cut the program’s average benefit levels. - Impose stricter eligibility standards to discourage claims from people who should be working. - Create a longer delay for the initial receipt of benefits to discourage frivolous applications. - Reduce the large number of appeals for people initially denied benefits. - Ensure greater quality control and consistency of decisions by officials and judges. - Create a “taxpayer advocate” in the administrative law process to challenge dubious claims made by applicants and their lawyers. - Apply continuous disability reviews of people receiving benefits in a more vigorous manner. His study [is here](https://www.downsizinggovernment.org/ssa/social-security-disability-insurance). ##### Related Tags [Tax and Budget Policy](https://www.cato.org/tax-budget-policy) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).