The Cooperative Disability Unit, which the Attorney General’s Office joined in December, investigates suspicious or questionable Social Security disability claims. It helps resolve questions of potential fraud in many instances before benefits are ever paid. That helps disability examiners make informed decisions and ensure payment accuracy, which in turn generates significant savings for taxpayers.
“I am very pleased with our progress,” Morrisey said in a press release. “Not only has this program saved a lot of money, but it also is beginning to change the culture in our state so these monies go to people who actually need the benefit.”
Charleston’s unit joins two investigators and an analyst from the Attorney General’s Office with representatives from SSA, its Office of the Inspector General and the state’s Disability Determination Section.
The Charleston CDI Unit is the first of its kind in West Virginia. Nationally, the CDI program is one of the most successful anti-fraud initiatives with regard to federal disability programs. It operates 37 units covering 32 states, the District of Colombia and Puerto Rico.
Members of the public are asked to report suspected disability fraud to the Social Security Fraud Hotline at http://oig.ssa.gov/report; send mail to PO Box 17768, Baltimore, MD, 21235; fax (410) 597-0118; or call (800) 269-0271 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.