In a recent investigation, the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), spearheaded by Elon Musk, has uncovered startling discrepancies within the U.S. Social Security database. Musk, posting X handle, shared findings that suggest millions of dollars in benefits are being disbursed to individuals listed as over 140 years old.
The finding, described by Mr. Musk as probably "the biggest fraud in history," is the latest in a surfeit of government waste and fraud that DOGE has been discovering. The team in less than a month has saved the American taxpayer over $100 billion.
To illustrate the extent of these anomalies, Musk shared a comprehensive chart provided by DOGE, detailing the count of social security recipients across various age ranges:
The chart reveals an alarming number of recipients in age brackets far exceeding human lifespan, with 3,542,044 individuals listed between 140-149 years old, and even one individual in the 360-369 age range.
Musk, through his personal X handle @elonmusk, commented on the findings. "Yes, there are FAR more 'eligible' social security numbers than there are citizens in the USA." He further commented, "This might be the biggest fraud in history," and clarified that "The number of U.S. citizens eligible for social security is closer to 310M." According to the findings, there are 394.9 million Social Security numbers in the system, despite the U.S. population being 334 million. The number of individuals eligible for Social Security is estimated at 310 million, leaving a discrepancy of 85.9 million.
These revelations have led to the identification of payments to deceased recipients, with projections from DOGE suggesting that an additional $215 million could be recovered by 2026. However, there's a debate on whether these discrepancies are due to fraud or merely the result of outdated technology within the Social Security Administration (SSA). Some argue that the use of the default birthdate "1875" for unknown birthdates in the SSA's COBOL-based system might explain the anomaly, suggesting a need for technological updates rather than pointing towards fraud.
Official government channels have yet to provide a comprehensive response, but the findings have already prompted discussions on modernizing federal IT infrastructure to prevent such discrepancies.
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