‘INNOCENT’
‘I did nothing wrong,’ man vows as he’s hit with $24k Social Security bill despite doing everything feds asked
His health is bad but he's fighting the demand
A SOLO dad has been hit with a Social Security bill for more than $24,000 in unemployment benefits.
But the disabled man has vowed to keep the cash as he is adamant he’s entitled to state and federal benefits.
1
Mike Cooper, of Loudon County in Tennessee, started drawing unemployment money during the Covid pandemic.
"I think I’m eligible. I did everything that was required of me,” Cooper told ABC 6 News.
Citing Tennessee Labor Department records, the show said that during the pandemic, he had been paid $720 a week in state unemployment benefits and federal stimulus money.
The single dad had been self-employed at the start of the pandemic.
READ MORE MONEY NEWS
And according to the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program rules, state and federal benefits were paid to self-employed residents in Tennessee.
Regulations were relaxed at the time to help Tennesseans get paid quicker through unemployment.
But in March, Cooper - who has a teenage daughter - received a bill showing that he owed the state labor department $24,000.
He said he could not afford to pay back such a huge amount.
Most read in Money
PENALIZED
Cooper showed the broadcaster his original qualification letter - sent by the state in April 2020 - to prove his right to receive benefits.
He maintained that he was being unfairly penalized by officials.
In July 2021, the state had demanded further information, including proof of address and his driver's license.
Although he complied, and provided the additional proof, that wasn't enough for officials, who insisted he was disqualified.
So, he then took that rejection to the tribunal appeal authority.
“There is no evidence the claimant knowingly made false statements to obtain benefits," the conclusion said - per ABC 6.
Filing Waiver Form SSA-632
Those who cannot afford to pay back the overpayment amounts noted by the SSA or feel they should not have to can file a specific form.
- The form is identified as SSA-632 on the SSA website and can be filled out and submitted at a local office.
- "If you agree that you have been overpaid, but you feel you should not have to pay it back because you did not cause the overpayment and you cannot afford to repay it, you should file Form SSA-632," the SSA notes on its website.
- It also lists multiple repayment options.
- Recipients with additional questions are urged to call 1-800-772-1213.
Despite this finding, officials at Tennessee's Labor Department continued to demand that he repay more than $24,000 in unemployment benefits.
"Everything I received I was eligible for, and I have no intention of paying anything back," he vowed.
Ironically, he told ABC 6 News that he had this month received notification he now qualified for Social Security disability benefits.
His monthly disability checks will be about $1,000 - not enough to pay back the unemployment benefits bill.
I did everything that was required of me.
A spokesperson for the Labor Department said too much time had lapsed for the lodging of his initial appeal.
They maintained that Cooper owed more than $24,000.
The U.S. Sun Online has contacted the department for further comment.
I almost lost my home after $9k Social Security payment vanished from Chase account - bank error put me in the negative
His dilemma follows a similar case, involving an anonymous person who said the Social Security Administration (SSA) told them they owed $22,000 in overpayments.
The beneficiary was told they hadn't updated their information in over a decade.
And another woman is panicking about a Social Security overpayment for her dad - that she can't afford to pay back.
She explained that her dad was alleged to have spent a total of $10,000 for Medicaid purposes.
Read More on The US Sun
While the daughter has "exhausted every piece of paperwork" her dad owns, she has yet to find any receipts.
Meanwhile, in Arizona, a widow was shocked upon learning that she owed $34,048.40 in overpayments on her late husband's behalf.