President Donald Trump on April 15 signed a memorandum intended to curb fraud in Social Security programs, a campaign that has been a key focus for Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
The April 15 directive is aimed at restricting undocumented immigrants from accessing Social Security retirement benefits, which is already already prohibited by law.
The action also directs investigations into Social Security data to confirm that the identities of recipients who are at least 100 years old match the name of the wage earner connected to that benefit, according to the order.
“It will expand the Social Security Administration’s fraud prosecutor program to at least 50 U.S. Attorney offices, and establishes a Medicare and Medicaid fraud prosecution program in 15 U.S. Attorney offices,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on April 15.
Musk has regularly claimed that there is rampant fraud at the Social Security Administration and has directed at least 10 members of his team to scour the benefit rolls to find fraud and abuse in an effort he has dubbed the “Are You Alive Project.”
The billionaire adviser to the president has said there could be as much as $700 billion a year in fraud, though inspector general reports show far less.
From 2015 through 2022, Social Security estimated that it made almost $72 billion in improper payments — less than 1% of benefits paid, according to a watchdog report last year.
Trump’s order also urged Social Security to seek civil monetary penalties for fraud. Those penalties, which are rarely enforced, allow Social Security to seek about $10,000 in additional damages when a beneficiary gives false information that leads to an overpayment.
