We are talking about massive amounts of fraud with someone using the money. So, after a little research, I’ve found a couple of answers. One, no notice of death, so auto deposits continue until someone stops it. Most likely a family member has joint privileges, so the money becomes a second income until caught. Two, the government failing to take people off the rolls, so the payments kept going, and this doesn’t surprise me.
Now, we get into a philosophical issue - are the recipients of this money accountable for a crime, or is it all the government’s fault? Morality comes into play as well, and should the people benefiting from this have reported it, even after some time has passed? It’s an easy answer, and that is yes, at least to me.
Let me explain. My wife’s mother lived with us for years and was receiving benefits. My wife managed her account at the bank and had full access. When it was close to the end of her mother’s life, she wanted to go home to die, which for her was South Korea. The benefits continued, and we let it go for a couple of months, and then I couldn’t get it out of my mind that it was wrong. So, we completed the process to remove her from receiving money.
Secondly, when we bought our first house and moved in, we were not receiving an electric bill. After a few months, I thought something had to be wrong, so I went out to the utility meter to see what was up. Well, it wasn’t spinning, so it always stayed at zero. Wow, what a dream, no electricity bills forever. Not so. I called, and they came out and fixed it.
Call me stupid or whatever, but I listen to my moral compass from God, and if others did so, we would be a lot better off. Sorry for the sermon, but this popped into my head as I was doing this post. All IMO.
“The U.S. Treasury Department has intercepted roughly $99 million improper federal payments intended for deceased individuals and blocked approximately 4,900 payments before they were distributed.
Just the News reports that the action followed a review of 885 million payments worth nearly $2.7 trillion, the department’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service discovered the money was sent to dead people.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox Business that the Treasury’s new payment verification process could prevent up to $350 million in improper payments by the end of the year.”