Fraud

[cougargirl78]

My brother goes to refill his son's prescription yesterday and he is told by the pharmacy that his C.H.I.P. has expired. So he goes to the office located on Broadway and asks about getting a temporary card so he can get the medication. The lady that helped him informed him that he no longer qualifies fo CHIP because he is over his income limit. He explains to her that his employment/hours haven't changed so he doesn't understand why he doesn't qualify. She informs him that since he is now receiving $540 in food stamps, this puts him over the limit. He tells her he is not on food stamps but she tells him that he has been receiving this for over 8 months. According to my brother, the supervisor came over with his file and inside she finds the original application which was filled out. They show it to him and he informs her that that is not his wive's handwriting nor her signature (supposedly the Lonestar card is in her name).
He went back to the office today and requested copies of his file and they denied this saying there was an investigation going on. Does he have a right to the copies?
Also, does anyone know how often these local agencies are audited (sounds to me like there is internal fraud going on) and by whom?
The ladies were very hush hush and said they could not talk about it but they were not very helpful in giving phone numbers as to who to call to find out information. :banghead:
Any guidance, help is much appreciated. Thank you.

[butchkemper]

I would suggest a trip to the Marble Falls Police Department. If MFPD can not help, then ask which agency should be contacted for assistance.

Butch

[Reapp]

Sounds like a case of identity theft, have him go down to the PD and report this. Also, I would be sure and have him run his credit report and look for anything suspicious. They should be able to give him an investigation ID number, make sure he provides this to the PD.

[mdarling]

You might also consider contacting the Attorney General's office since this involves state funding.

[mrdonkhan]

I worked Welfare Fraud in California. There is not much you can do but wait. When the fraud investigators build the case they will contact your brother and his wife as witnesses. If they do the same screening process here as in California, they will have a picture and finger prints of the offender as they are needed to process their application. The length of time to wait depends on the investigator and what else they are working on. I know it sucks for them but they might be able to convince a Welfare Supervisor to grant them temp access to the medical part of their coverage.

Good luck