Opinion ID: 2994227
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The SSA’s Certification of Strong as Gloria’s

Text: Representative Payee On December 5, 1990, shortly before her death, Gloria’s terminally-ill mother, Georgia Mae Cannon, signed a social security consent form naming Strong as the representative payee for the Child’s Insurance Benefits (CIB) to which her three minor children, Gloria (15 years old), Barbara (15 years old), and Emanuel (5 years old) were entitled. Shortly thereafter, on December 13, 1990, the Illinois Circuit Court for Sangamon County appointed Strong to be the legal and custodial guardian of Gloria, Barbara, and Emanuel. After the death of their mother, Georgia, on December 18, 1990, Gloria, her sister, and her brother began living with Strong in his Springfield, Illinois apartment. A few weeks later, in January 1991, the SSA appointed Strong as Gloria’s representative payee for her CIB. From January 1991 through January 1993, Strong received $3670 in CIB funds on Gloria’s behalf. On December 23, 1992, the SSA awarded Gloria SSI benefits under 42 U.S.C. sec. 1381a (but did not yet turn over the funds). Shortly thereafter, Strong applied to the SSA to be appointed as the representative payee for Gloria’s SSI benefits. On January 14, 1993, Strong submitted an Application Form SSA-11-BK (Request to be Selected as Payee) and a Form SSA-8000-BK (Application for Supplemental Security Income). On those forms that Strong filled out and submitted, he stated that he was Gloria’s uncle, that she was a minor, and that she (and her brother and sister) lived with him in his apartment. Furthermore, Strong claimed (falsely) that he had never been convicted of a felony. After Strong submitted his payee application, he was interviewed by an SSA representative, where, once again, he stated that he had never been convicted of a felony./3 Contrary to Strong’s assertions, he had in fact been convicted of three felonies: He was convicted in Detroit, Michigan, in 1955 for overdrawing unemployment benefits; in California, in 1970 for stealing an automobile; and in California, in 1976 for receiving stolen property. Because of its lack of diligence in engaging in a thorough investigation of Strong, the SSA did not have the benefit of this information. So, based on the fact Gloria lived with Strong, and that Strong was her uncle and court-appointed legal guardian, and that Strong had previously served as her CIB payee (on the recommendation of her now deceased mother), on January 12, 1993, the SSA certified Strong as Gloria’s SSI representative. On February 22, 1993, Strong received $23,202.98 on Gloria’s behalf, and continued to receive Gloria’s $300 monthly SSI checks until September 1993, at which time Gloria started receiving her SSI checks directly./4 C. Strong’s Performance as Gloria’s Representative Payee On October 13, 1993, Gloria’s sister, Barbara, submitted a signed statement to the SSA stating that Strong had misused approximately $23,000 of Gloria’s SSI benefits. At about this time, Gloria, obviously upset that Strong had misused the funds, appointed Linda Rockey (Rockey) as her representative, and Rockey submitted a signed statement which stated that Gloria never received the benefits that the SSA had paid to Strong. In response to these allegations of misuse, the SSA, which had already stopped sending Gloria’s SSI checks to Strong, asked Strong for an accounting. But Strong failed to respond and provide the requested accounting information, and on January 22, 1994, the SSA determined that Strong had misused $22,767.68 of Gloria’s SSI benefits. See 20 C.F.R. sec. 416.635(a); POMS sec. GN 00604.001(B)(4)./5 In a letter dated March 27, 1995, the SSA demanded restitution from Strong, informing him, you will have to return the $22,767.68 of the Supplemental Security Income money we sent you as Gloria Cannon’s payee. We have decided that you did not use this money for her as you agreed to do. For that reason you must pay us back./6 D. Gloria’s Claim for Reimbursement of Her Misused SSI Funds Although Gloria was able to recover some/7 of the misused funds from Strong,/8 she attempted to recover the remainder of the funds directly from the SSA. See POMS sec. GN 00604.035(C). As stated before, the SSA came to its own defense, determining that it had not been negligent in selecting Strong as Gloria’s representative payee, and that decision was subsequently upheld both by the ALJ and by the Appeals Council. Thereafter, Gloria sought review of the ALJ’s decision in the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois. Gloria alleged that the SSA violated 42 U.S.C. sec. 1383(a)(2)(E) by negligently selecting Strong as her representative payee. Both parties filed motions for summary judgment. The Magistrate Judge/9 granted the Commissioner’s motion for summary judgment and denied Gloria’s motion for summary judgment, finding that there is substantial evidence to support the ALJ’s finding that Defendant exercised reasonable care and was not negligent in appointing Strong as Plaintiff’s representative payee. We affirm.