Free Republic

A ringleader in one of the biggest Social Security disability fraud cases in U.S. history has pleaded guilty to filing more than 1,700 bogus applications, bilking the government out of potentially a half-billion dollars. But the administration is struggling to figure out how to handle the applicants, many of whom say that even though their applications were falsified, their cases are real and they shouldn’t be punished for having been ensnared by the massive fraud. Eric C. Conn, a prominent lawyer in eastern Kentucky, signed a guilty plea late last month acknowledging the scam, in which he recruited and filed...

A “blind” Wisconsin man’s $175,000 Social Security disability fraud scheme ended when federal agents caught him driving a speedboat, according to the inspector general. Lawrence Popp, 58, was sentenced to one year in prison on Tuesday for defrauding the Social Security Administration... Popp, a wealthy businessman, continued to work and go on lavish vacations in the Cayman Islands while collecting disability benefits for five years. A record 10,988,269 people received federal disability benefits in December 2013, according to the SSA. A 2012 report from Sen. Tom Coburn (R., Okla.) found that more than 25 percent of benefits are awarded with...

In this era of tight airport security, the Transportation Safety Administration typically will not allow a passenger to board an airplane if the name printed on the ticket differs from the way it appears on government-issued identification. Now that the White House has released President Obama's purported long-form birth certificate, a question arises as to why the name on that document does not match the name on his State Department passport. This matched how his name was listed on the short-form Certification of Live Birth released during the 2008 presidential campaign, as first presented by DailyKos.com June 12, 2008: Below...

Advocacy group helps illegal immigrants get tax refunds, even those with bogus social security cards BY Erica PearsonDAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER Friday, November 19th 2010, 4:00 AM A Manhattan group is helping illegal immigrants recoup unclaimed state tax refunds - even if they used fake Social Security numbers to work.The Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project got back thousands for a dozen undocumented New Yorkers who overpaid.One bodega worker from Jackson Heights had been paying taxes since 2002 but never got a refund - until the group helped him get back $670 from his 2008 return."It really helped - we have...

Exclusive: Has Illegal Immigration’s Effect on Education Become the ‘Third Rail’ of Politics? Vincent Gioia Traditionally, Social Security has been the “third rail” of politics but we now have another third rail – illegal immigration and education. Politicians step all over themselves asking for more and more money to be spent on education; ignoring the fact that money alone does not make for a good public education. Another thing we are not allowed to mention in a discussion about public education quality and costs is the impact of illegal immigration; otherwise we are labeled “racists.” The United States has the...

13 Million Illegal Immigrants Living in the United States March 8, 2009 FAIRUS.org How Many Illegal Immigrants? Illegal Immigrant Problems & Statistics FAIR estimates that in 2007 the illegal immigrant population is above 13 million persons. Government and academic estimates indicate that as of 2006 there were 11 to 12 million illegal immigrants living in the United States. The Center for Immigration Studies estimated the illegal immigrant population at 10 million as of November 2004. It is difficult to have an exact figure because the illegal nature of their presence prevents any enumeration, but the U.S. Census Bureau estimated 8.7...

There is new information in the case of a decomposed female's body that was found at an Eastside apartment complex earlier this month. Thursday, Tucson Police detectives spoke with the woman's brother who was supposed to be caring for his sister. On April 5th, Tucson police made a welfare check at their home. Nothing prepared them for the gruesome discovery. The badly decomposed body of Brenda Burton was found in a bedroom with quilts piled high on top of her. Missing was her 50-year-old brother, Samuel, who family members say was supposed to be taking care of her. Theresa Morton,...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The county Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to continue to accept identification cards issued by foreign consulates but to train county employees to help them detect fraudulent cards. The decision came after Supervisor Mike Antonovich announced he had been given a fraudulent Mexican identification card with his own photo on it and urged fellow supervisors not to accept the cards. The motion passed by a 3-2 vote with Supervisors Gloria Molina, Yvonne B. Burke and Zev Yaroslavsky in favor, and Antonovich and Don Knabe voting against the measure. The Mexican consular cards are by far the...