Filing for disability benefits can be an enormously frustrating experience for any Knoxville resident. Not only is it confusing and tedious to collect all the pertinent information you will need to include with your application, but you may very well have to wait several weeks, months or even longer to collect benefits if your application is initially denied.
Once you start receiving these benefits, you can feel like the tough part is behind you and all you need to worry about now is your health. However, you can lose your benefits for many reasons, including being incarcerated.
For example, recently a man in another state was sentenced to prison and ordered to pay more than $52,000 in restitution after the courts determined he had been wrongfully collecting disability benefits for more than four years.
According to reports, he was already collecting disability benefits when he was convicted of a serious crime back in 2009 and sentenced to prison. Rather than inform the Social Security Administration of his incarceration, which the law requires, the man continued to collect his benefits in prison. People who are incarcerated are ineligible to receive these types of benefits.
He ended up receiving over $50,000 in Social Security benefits that he should not have.
Incarceration is just one reason why a person might be disqualified from receiving benefits, so it can be a good idea to discuss with your attorney what situations are likely to put a stop to the benefits you are receiving. Failure to understand or comply with these rules can have a significant impact on your freedom, finances and future.
Source: WQAD, “Davenport sex offender illegally got $50,000 from Social Security,” Sarah Tisinger, Feb. 1, 2016