Roy David Lykins began receiving Title II Disability Insurance benefits in October of 2001. Title II Benefits are cash benefits for people who are fully “insured” under Social Security. A person with a disability is insured once they have worked long enough and paid enough Social Security taxes, between the ages 18 and 65. In February 2005, before his medical review with the Social Security Administration, Lykins claimed in official documents that he could only walk 35 to 50 feet. The length of a school bus. He also claimed that he could not take care of his own personal hygiene. And that he could not understand or follow instructions. Which means he must not have understood the instructions sent by SSA, stating that he must promptly report any work, earnings, or changes in his condition. Or did he?
Starting in the very year that Lykins claimed he “could not understand or follow instructions “, until 2018, Lykins worked as a salaried farmhand in Red Oak, Arkansas. During this time, he did not report his employment to SSA yet continued to receive Title II Disability Insurance benefits. Had Lykins reported his earnings, his benefits obviously would have been terminated. Yet, Lykins actions show critical thinking on his part as opposed to an inability to understand instructions. Lykins concealed his earnings by convincing his employer to issue his paychecks in his wife’s name and Social Security number.
Lykins received approximately $249,166.10 in fraudulent disability benefits. Additionally, Lykins received about $56,000 in Medicare benefits through the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that he was not entitled to.
On November 14, 2024, Lykins was sentenced to nineteen years in prison.
Great job by the Social Security Administration in this case.
Today’s Fraud Of The Day is based on article “Greenbrier man sentenced to federal prison for Social Security fraud” published by KARK Little Rock News on November 14, 2024
Federal prosecutors said long-term Social Security fraud ended with a Greenbrier man receiving a federal prison sentence. Officials said 56-year-old Roy David Lykins of Greenbrier had fraudulently collected more than $249,000 in Social Security benefits beginning in 2001. A federal judge sentenced him to 19 months in prison, then two years of supervised release.
Prosecutors said Lykins had applied for disability insurance and then worked as a farm hand using falsified records to hide his additional income.
Investigators said Lykins applied for disability insurance in October 2001, stating he could only walk 35 to 50 feet, not take care of his personal hygiene and not follow or understand instructions.