Three doctors, former Social Security employee Samuel Torres Crespo and 71 claimants were indicted Friday and arrested Wednesday.
Federal authorities said Wednesday that they arrested 75 people in Puerto Rico on charges of bilking the Social Security disability system of millions of dollars in a scam that is fueling calls for a rethink of how the government pays benefits.
Authorities used a sting operation to nail the fraud ring, which involved a former Social Security employee charging up to $6,000 to write a bogus application and doctors charging up to $500 to write medical diagnoses saying people were too psychiatrically impaired to work.
Known as Social Security Disability Insurance or DI, the program already was under fire from Capitol Hill. Analysts say the program is running out of money, which lawmakers blame in part on rampant fraud.
“That such fraud could occur in the first place raises serious and troubling questions regarding Social Security’s management of the disability program,” said Rep. Sam Johnson, Texas Republican and chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee’s panel on Social Security. “Clearly, this isn’t a case of just a few bad apples.”
Mr. Johnson said he will hold a hearing on the Puerto Rico scam when Congress returns in September from a five-week summer recess.
While Social Security’s main program is payments to senior citizens, the disability program is a growing part of the agency’s work.
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