In August, the Social Security Administration opened up a Cooperative Disability Investigations office (CDI) in North Carolina. The office is a joint venture between the State Bureau of Investigation and the inspector general. The agency is tasked with examining disability claims deemed highly suspicious. The agency hopes to prevent disability fraud by properly and thoroughly vetting claimants. Their goal is to only distribute payments to qualified recipients.
The new office in North Carolina is just one of the 37 CDI offices operating all over the country. Disability fraud is very real and the problem is only growing now that more people have access to the internet and tools to create fraudulent documents. These claims waste taxpayer’s money during disbursement and continue to waste money when the offenders are prosecuted.