First-of-its-kind partnership in state’s history to prevent disability fraud
CHARLESTON, W.Va., — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, the Social Security Administration and its Office of the Inspector General (OIG) announced today the formation of the Cooperative Disability Investigations (CDI) Unit in Charleston. As part of the nationwide CDI Program, the Charleston Unit identifies and prevents Social Security disability fraud throughout the State of West Virginia.
The CDI program is one of Social Security’s most successful anti-fraud initiatives, contributing to the integrity of Federal disability programs. CDI Units bring together personnel from Social Security, its OIG, state Disability Determination Services (DDS), and local law enforcement agencies to analyze and investigate suspicious or questionable Social Security disability claims, to help resolve questions of potential fraud before benefits are ever paid. CDI Unit efforts help disability examiners make informed decisions, ensure payment accuracy, and generate significant taxpayer savings, for both federal and state programs.
“We have a significant problem with disability fraud in West Virginia,” Morrisey said. “It is my hope that this partnership will dramatically reduce fraud and abuse so that we can preserve precious taxpayer resources for those who are legally allowed to obtain this benefit.”
“Social Security’s most successful collaboration with the OIG in the area of disability fraud investigation and prevention is the CDI program,” Carolyn W. Clvin, Acting Commissioner of Social Security. “These units play a critical role in preventing fraud and investigating complex conspiracies and we are excited to mark the work being done at the Charleston CDI unit. “I thank Attorney General Patrick Morrisey for his office’s involvement and commitment to fight fraud. Social Security will continue to combat fraud and preserve public trust in our programs.”
“For nearly two decades, CDI has had tremendous success in identifying and preventing disability fraud and abuse,” Social Security Inspector General Patrick P. O’Carroll, Jr said. “We’re very pleased to partner with Attorney General Patrick Morrisey to expand our efforts to combat fraud and to ensure the integrity of Social Security’s disability programs for the citizens of West Virginia.”
The CDI program currently consists of 37 units covering 31 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Social Security and the OIG plan to establish another unit in 2016 as part of an ongoing agency effort to root out disability fraud and preserve benefits for those who truly deserve them.
Social Security and its OIG jointly established the CDI program in 1997. Since the program was established, CDI efforts have contributed to $3.3 billion in projected savings to Social Security programs, and $2.2 billion in projected savings to related non-Social Security programs. For more information on the CDI program, please visit the OIG website and Social Security’s anti-fraud website at www.socialsecurity.gov/antifraudfacts/.
Members of the public should report suspected disability fraud to the Social Security Fraud Hotline at http://oig.ssa.gov/report; send U.S. 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. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.
