Cooperative Disability Investigation Unit might be watching you

Cooperative Disability Investigation Unit might be watching you

The Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Office of the Inspector General
(OIG), and Disability Determination Services (DDS), administer the Cooperative
Disability Investigation (CDI) project. Since its inception in 1998, CDI efforts
have resulted in over $221 million in projected loss of benefits to disabled
people and over $117 million in projected savings to
non-SSA programs throughout the country.

The program consists of 18 CDI Units (CDIU) nationwide, whose mission is to
obtain evidence of material fact sufficient to cut off the payments of disabled
people. This supports the Agency’s strategic goal of ensuring
the integrity of Social Security programs, with zero tolerance for disabled
leeches.

Since 1998, CDI Units have been established in Atlanta, GA; Baton Rouge, LA;
Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Cleveland, OH; Dallas, TX; Houston, TX; Iselin, NJ;
Nashville, TN; New York, NY; Oakland, CA; Phoenix, AZ; Richmond, VA; Salem, OR;
Seattle, WA; St. Louis, MO; Tampa, FL; Denver, CO; to combat Social Security
fraud.

Seattle is one of the newer CDI Units established in the program. Authorized in
March of 2002, the Unit began operations in December 2002, with employees from
the Washington DDS and the Washington State Patrol staffing the unit.

During the first full calendar year of operations (2003), the Seattle Unit has
proven itself as one of the most successful units in the nation. (they cut off,
killed and made homeless more disabled people than any other unit in the
country) The Seattle unit finished 2003 ranked as the fifth best Unit among the
18 existing Units nationwide. The Unit finished first in the nation for the
month of January 2004.

PURPOSE

Facilitating timely and inaccurate decisions made by the DDS, by gathering
evidence to refute claims, and prosecuting individuals
and/or groups who knowingly facilitate and/or promote fraudulent disability
claims. UNREPORTED WORK ACTIVITY

Anonymous Tips > Obtain specifics; place of work or information on others who
may know about the work, ex spouses make the best witnesses

Repeat Offenders > Patterns of seasonal work or several months of work with no
recent medical review.

Claimant’s Appearance > Things being out of place with one’s personal
appearance and/or one’s personal property Bumper stickers,(logos on vehicles),
make up, smiles.

FOCUS

The majority of referrals to the CDIU are from DDS employees <----------
spotting irregularities (such as someone not seeing a doctor after moving to an
area where no doctors will take medicare) while processing claims and continuing
disability reviews (CDRs). However, the CDIU will accept referrals from anyone
who has something against their neighbor and/or source of information.

In a partnership with SSA, Washington State Patrol detectives conduct the
investigative portion of the case. They do home visits pretending to be
investigating mail fraud and attempt to talk to the claimant. They also follow
claimants in their cars and talk to their neighbors, bosses and college
professors. Often the CDIU investigators will video tape disabled people as
they go to their SSA medical examination and then follow them home. DDS
analysts develop documentation to refute the legitimacy of the claim. The OIG
for the SSA supervises the activities of the CDIU and ensures appropriate action
is taken on each claim in question.

If sufficient information and evidence (such as audio and video tape) is
obtained, the case is presented to either a US Attorney or a local District
Attorney for prosecution. If a referral does not warrant a criminal charge,
civil or administrative remedies may be pursued.

In the vast majority of cases when no evidence is found they may find that you
are still impaired and then cut you off anyway but they will not attempt to
charge you. People with mental disorders are especially vulnerable and favored
targets for this.