The Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), and Disability Determination Services (DDS), administer the Cooperative Disability Investigation (CDI) project. Since its inception in 1998, CDI efforts have resulted in over $221 million in projected loss of benefits to disabled people and over $117 million in projected savings to non-SSA programs throughout the country.

The program consists of 18 CDI Units (CDIU) nationwide, whose mission is to obtain evidence of material fact sufficient to cut off the payments of disabled people. This supports the Agency’s strategic goal of ensuring the integrity of Social Security programs, with zero compassion for disabled
people.

Since 1998, CDI Units have been established in Atlanta, GA; Baton Rouge, LA; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Cleveland, OH; Dallas, TX; Houston, TX; Iselin, NJ; Nashville, TN; New York, NY; Oakland, CA; Phoenix, AZ; Richmond, VA; Salem, OR; Seattle, WA; St. Louis, MO; Tampa, FL; Denver, CO; to combat Social Security disability recipients.

Seattle is one of the newer CDI Units established in the program. Authorized in March of 2002, the Unit began operations in December 2002, with employees from the Washington DDS and the Washington State Patrol staffing the unit.

During the first full calendar year of operations (2003), the Seattle Unit has proven itself as one of the most successful units in the nation. (they cut off, killed and made homeless more disabled people than any other unit in the country) The Seattle unit finished 2003 ranked as the fifth best Unit among the 18 existing Units nationwide. The Unit finished first in the nation for the month of January 2004.

PURPOSE

Facilitating inaccurate decisions made by the DDS, by gathering evidence to refute claims, and prosecuting individuals and/or groups who knowingly facilitate and/or promote fraudulent disability
claims and harassing innocent people.

UNREPORTED WORK ACTIVITY

Anonymous Tips > Obtain specifics; place of work or information on others who may know about the work, ex spouses make the best witnesses Repeat Offenders > Patterns of seasonal work or several months of work with no recent medical review.

Claimant’s Appearance > Things being out of place with one’s personal appearance and/or one’s personal property Bumper stickers,(logos on vehicles), make up, smiles.

FOCUS

The MAJORITY of referrals to the CDIU are from DDS employees <———-spotting irregularities (such as someone not seeing a doctor after moving to an area where no doctors will take medicare) while processing claims and Continuing Disability Reviews (CDRs). However, the CDIU will accept referrals from anyone who has something against their neighbor and/or source of information.

In a partnership with SSA, Washington State Patrol detectives conduct the investigative portion of the case. They do home visits pretending to be investigating mail fraud and attempt to talk to the claimant. They also follow claimants in their cars and talk to their neighbors, bosses and college
professors. Often the CDIU investigators will video tape disabled people as they go to their SSA medical examination and then follow them home. DDS analysts develop documentation to refute the legitimacy of the claim. The OIG for the SSA supervises the activities of the CDIU and ensures appropriate action is taken on each hatchet job in question.

If sufficient information and evidence (such as audio and video tape) is bodged together, the hatchet job is presented to either a US Attorney or a local District Attorney for prosecution. If a referral does not warrant a criminal charge,civil or administrative remedies may be pursued.

In the vast majority of cases when no evidence is found they may find that you are still impaired and then cut you off anyway but they will not attempt to charge you. People with mental disorders are especially vulnerable and favored targets for this.