can I turn myself in for disability fraud? what would be the consequences?

[robert236]

I've been disabled for my entire adult life

Never able to pay for anything and I really really struggled to get disability and then I finally got it at 27

I started trading and investing in cryptocurrencies as a hobby never thinking it was going to lead to anything so I just stayed on disability. I had the comfort of having health insurance. even though I was making money in crypto, it didnt feel real to me..like not real money. I never withdrew it.

a couple years passed and suddenly I've made tons of money in crypto.
I want to pay the govt back because I dont need the extra money
I want to go to the social security office and pay them, even pay them extra
but I'm afraid I'll get into legal trouble reporting myself
is there leniency for reporting myself and backpaying extra?
what steps should I take to make a clean slate?

Thanks in advance, I'm very anxious about this and want to do the right thing.

 

[Just Blue]

I've been disabled for my entire adult life

Never able to pay for anything and I really really struggled to get disability and then I finally got it at 27

I started trading and investing in cryptocurrencies as a hobby never thinking it was going to lead to anything so I just stayed on disability. I had the comfort of having health insurance. even though I was making money in crypto, it didnt feel real to me..like not real money. I never withdrew it.

a couple years passed and suddenly I've made tons of money in crypto.
I want to pay the govt back because I dont need the extra money
I want to go to the social security office and pay them, even pay them extra
but I'm afraid I'll get into legal trouble reporting myself
is there leniency for reporting myself and backpaying extra?
what steps should I take to make a clean slate?

Thanks in advance, I'm very anxious about this and want to do the right thing.

What state?
I suggest you have a consultation with a criminal defense attorney before heading over to SSA.

 

[adjusterjack]

Thanks in advance, I'm very anxious about this and want to do the right thing.

If you are talking about Social Security Disability Income (SSDI - yes? no?), you might not owe as much as you think you owe and there might be a simple solution to your problem since Social Security actually allows you to earn a certain amount per month while collecting benefits.

For 2020 it's $1260 per month. For 2019 I think it was $1220. Goes up a bit every year. My sister went through all that and I have some knowledge of how it works.

Provide some details if you want additional help.

1 - The date you were awarded SSDI.
2 - Your monthly revenue from cryptocurrency from that date to now. (Yes - each month, year, amount).

 

[LdiJ]

I've been disabled for my entire adult life

Never able to pay for anything and I really really struggled to get disability and then I finally got it at 27

I started trading and investing in cryptocurrencies as a hobby never thinking it was going to lead to anything so I just stayed on disability. I had the comfort of having health insurance. even though I was making money in crypto, it didnt feel real to me..like not real money. I never withdrew it.

a couple years passed and suddenly I've made tons of money in crypto.
I want to pay the govt back because I dont need the extra money
I want to go to the social security office and pay them, even pay them extra
but I'm afraid I'll get into legal trouble reporting myself
is there leniency for reporting myself and backpaying extra?
what steps should I take to make a clean slate?

Thanks in advance, I'm very anxious about this and want to do the right thing.

I disagree with the previous response that you received. Cryptocurrency trading and investing is no different than trading and investing in stock. Therefore, if you are on SSDI, you are free to have as much investment income as you can earn on your investments.

However, if you are on SSI (Supplemental Security Income) rather than SSDI (Social Security Disability Income) then you would have a problem. Yes, you would have to pay it back. The date from which you would need to start paying it back would be from the date that your cryptocurrency assets exceeded $2000.00. So, the month where you first hit that mark is the date from which you need to pay back the benefits.

You have one additional problem. Cryptocurrency investment earnings are taxable income, even if you have not cashed them out. They should have been included on your tax returns all along (assuming that your annual earnings were high enough that you had to file a tax return.

 

[FlyingRon]

If he has been disabled his entire adult life, he's probably not eligible for SSDI.

 

[Just Blue]

If he has been disabled his entire adult life, he's probably not eligible for SSDI.

That was my impression form the opening post.

 

[LdiJ]

If he has been disabled his entire adult life, he's probably not eligible for SSDI.

Good point. Then the SSI scenario is likely to be the correct one.

 

[commentator]

The only person this OP needs to talk to is someone in the Social Security system. Because whatever has happened to you, you are not the first person they have ever encountered in this particular situation. They will be able to guide you. You do not need a criminal defense attorney. What you have done is possibly failed to report some earnings, which will be determined by the program, and by the whole system. They are HIGHLY unlikely to decide you need criminal prosecution. You did not get on permanent disability simply because you "needed the money." You probably still very much need health care, and probably would not be able to go out and purchase said health care on your own, regardless of how much you theoretically have made in crypto coins or whatever you have made this fortune in, and in any case, your Social Security disability office is the people you need to be working with about this situation. If you haven't used this money in any way, then it has not changed your standard of living at all, and may or may not be