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“They’re going to kick me out of my own home,” said Karl Berger, 86 years
old. Karl is a widower with no living children. When Karl’s wife died a couple
of years ago, he told the Social Security Administration to stop sending monthly
checks to his wife. But the agency continued to send the checks. Karl called
again; a clerk said not to worry. He told Karl to mail a followup letter that
included his wife's date of death. But the checks continued to come. Karl needed
the money, so he cashed his wife’s checks.
When SSA finally realized its mistake, it sent Karl a letter saying that he
owed SSA $5,900 plus interest. Karl receives only $12,000 a year, which is
slightly above poverty level. The only savings that he ever had--$5,000--was
spent on his wife’s funeral. He fought on Iwo Jima, site of one of the most
furious battles of World War II. The battle left him deaf in one ear and almost
blind in one eye.
His small house used to be in a good neighborhood. He takes the bus once a
week to visit his wife's grave. The rest of his time is spent at home, where he
carves wooden military figures that he donates to a local charity. The charity
sells the carvings and uses the money to help feed the homeless.
SSA gave Karl six months to pay the debt in full. Otherwise, the SSA letter
said, the agency would seize his home. Karl wrote back, asking if it would be
okay to pay $30 a month. That was all he could afford.
“That’s insufficient,” said William Shatner, an SSA agent. “We know that he
is a war veteran, but that doesn’t entitle him to free money. He knew that his
wife was dead, yet he cashed her monthly checks. That is fraud, pure and
simple.” |
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发表于 2016-7-10 09:20:48