We receive a fair number of calls by people being audited because their parent has been living in a foreign country for months at a time while receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) from the Social Security Administration (SSA). I have seen an increase in audits by the government, including OIG, for these SSI recipients. This is due to the government's enhanced ability to track federal travel by SSI recipients and a task force. A recent criminal case shows that some of these audits are not just seeking repayment but are filing federal criminal charges.
On December 11, 2019, Ahmad Yusuf Nuristani pleaded guilty in federal court to theft of public money, admitting that he received over $100,000 in government
benefits by concealing foreign travel and residency between July 2015 and
December 2018. As a part of his plea agreement, Mr. Nuristani has agreed to make full restitution to the SSA and the California Department of Health Care Services. He will be sentenced before the Hon. Cynthia A. Bashant on March 9, 2020.
During
a hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen S. Crawford, Mr. Nuristani admitted
that he applied for SSI from the Social Security
Administration in July 2015. Mr. Nuristani acknowledged that he knew an SSI
recipient must reside within the United States, and that he was required to
report any travel outside of the United States lasting more than thirty
days. Mr. Nuristani admitted to concealing and repeatedly lying to the SSA about his foreign travel and residency, and to
receiving $27,492.44 in SSI payments and to causing a loss of $73,090.34 to the
State of California for health care payments and services as a result of his
fraud. Since SSI recipients automatically qualify for Medi-Cal, this is why there was restitution owed to the State of California.
The government issued a press release on this case because Mr. Nuristani, age 71, is a former Fulbright Scholar and has been a prominent politician in
Afghanistan for decades. He even served as an Afghan senator even as
he received SSI at his claimed address in El Cajon, California.
This
case was brought through the Travel and Residency Enforcement Co-Op (TREC), a
pilot project of the SSA, its Office of Inspector
General, the California Department of Health Care Services Investigations
Division, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of
California.
TREC is designed to detect and prevent misuse of the SSI
program, a needs-based program administered by the SSA and designed to provide a floor of income for the aged, blind or
disabled who have little or no income and resources. An individual
approved to receive SSI automatically becomes eligible to receive Medi-Cal
health benefits from the State of California. Since its formation in
2017, TREC has resulted in 25 federal convictions of individuals who
fraudulently concealed foreign travel, foreign residency, and foreign financial
resources from the SSA. To date, TREC reports it has
obtained over $2 million in court-ordered restitution to state and federal
agencies.
Attorney Commentary: It is now much easier for the federal and state government to track the foreign travel and length of stay of SSI recipients. I have seen cases where elderly have stayed longer than 30 days due to health issues, but all SSI recipients should be aware of the reporting requirement if there is travel outside the U.S. lasting longer than 30 days. Otherwise, criminal prosecution as well as restitution and fines could be imposed.
