Source: DSS ignored fraud

Hartford, Conn. (WTNH) - A reliable source tells News 8 that the Connecticut Department of Social Services has been ignoring fraud for years because of staffing shortages.

The head of the DSS agency is denying any knowledge of any other fraud in public assistance programs.

A person with years of experience working the the state Department of Social Services Fraud Division says the alleged fraud announced by the Malloy Administration is just the tip of the iceberg, and what's worse, they know it and don't do anything about it.
      
The administration said Tuesday that investigators have started interviewing state employees who may have under reported their income to take advantage of the low income supplemental food stamp aid following Tropical Storm Irene.
     
A source, whose identity we are protecting, says DSS employees were told to approve everyone.

"The interviewers were told to accept the documentation however small it was, that they were given, and process the request for the card."

"So virtually anyone who came in was granted it?"

"That is correct."

The Commissioner said that federal rules did not require any immediate verification of income for these food debit cards, but News 8's source says people have been scamming the system for years and the agency does not go after them.

"Fraud is never followed up on. There are so few people that handle the fraud cases that there are thousands of cases sitting in file cabinets, sitting on desks that will never get processed."

The source says many cases go back so many years that it would now be impossible to prosecute.
     
"The statute of limitations on cases, people move, people become un-locatable, so basically these files that are sitting on desks simply. They're just there, a waste of space."

"How much money do you think is involved?"

"There's got to be millions of dollars involved."
       
Late today, the DSS. Commissioner, Roderick Bremby, who has only been on the job 7 months, confirmed that staffing levels have been drastically reduced, but denied any knowledge of any ignored fraud investigations.

Cmsr. Bremby said, "I know of no fraud or abuse in any of our programs."

"And there's no files of reported fraud that hasn't been investigated?"

"There are no files of reported fraud that I am aware of in any of our programs," Bremby answered.
     
The new commissioner notes that the irregularities in the Irene program were discovered by his office and an aggressive investigation is underway.
     
The source says coming forward and telling News 8 about what really is going on at DSS is done out of complete frustration with the higher ups at the agency.