Elon Musk revealed the jaw-dropping number of fraudulent unemployment claims his agency found, claiming he had to read the documents several times before it ‘sank in.’
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is investigating wasted taxpayer money as a matter of urgency after Donald Trump promised voters huge savings at the federal government.
DOGE announced their findings from an initial survey of unemployment insurance claims since 2020 on Wednesday that shocked Musk.
The study found at least 24,500 people over 115 years old claimed $59 million in benefits.
At least 28,000 people under the age of five claimed $254 million in benefits, as well as 9,700 people with birth dates over 15 years in the future claimed $69 million in benefits, according to DOGE.
In one shocking case, DOGE said they found someone with a birthday in 2154 who claimed $41,000 in benefits.
Musk shared the findings on his X account, claiming he was so stunned by the numbers it took him multiple times to grasp the information.
‘Your tax dollars were going to pay fraudulent unemployment claims for fake people born in the future,’ Musk said. ‘This is so crazy that I had to read it several times before it sank in.’
Elon Musk revealed the jaw-dropping number of fraudulent unemployment claims his agency found
Social media users agreed with Musk’s shock and called for the people who made the fraudulent claims to be punished.
‘Never in my life have I seen such greed and conniving as what DOGE has uncovered,’ one person said.
‘Unemployment claims for people who not only don’t work but people who haven’t even been born yet. Who thinks these things up,’ said another.
‘I got to the part where we spent $59 million on people that were 115 years of age and I started to get stomach cramps. How many years have we been getting ripped off like this,’ a third person said.
A fourth person added, ‘I’m disgusted with them. They need to go to jail it’s the only way we can clean it up. They committed crimes against Americans.’
This comes as DOGE crashed the Social Security Administration (SSA) website on Monday.
The young people who run DOGE were apparently engaged in an ‘anti-fraud upgrade’ when the efforts went bad and several reported an inability to access their online accounts, The Washington Post reported.
Specifically, the online glitch prevented the elderly and low-income families from accessing their information. It also stopped these demographics from being able to apply for government services or receive their payments.
People protest outside the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) headquarters for the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency
The repeated crashes come as DOGE and Musk continue demanding cuts to the SSA, including slashing the staff.
In February, Musk shared staggering data showing there are millions of dead Americans still eligible for social security payments.
The billionaire Tesla boss posted a chart on X showing that there are more than 20 million Americans listed over the age of 100, including 3.9 million in the 130-139 range, more than 3.5 million aged 140-149 and more than 1.3 million in the range 150-159. There is even an ‘alive’ citizen aged over 360, according to the records.
‘According to the Social Security database, these are the numbers of people in each age bucket with the death field set to FALSE! Maybe Twilight is real and there are a lot of vampires collecting Social Security,’ Musk said.
The Department of Health and Human Services agency is under fire from Musk for having on its records 60 million people more than the entire U.S. population, which means millions of people who are no longer alive – or possibly never existed – could be receiving monthly checks.
In 2024, 68.5 million people received benefits from SSA through retirement, disability and other payments.
It’s unclear so far yet how many of these payments were distributed due to fraud or mistakes made by the agency failing to confirm the age and eligibility of beneficiaries – including if they are alive or not.
But DOGE vowed it is now ‘looking into this.’
DOGE crashed the Social Security Administration (SSA) website on Monday as part of an ‘anti-fraud upgrade’
Meanwhile, Musk’s popularity has hit an all-time low in the latest survey of his approval rating among Americans
Meanwhile, Musk’s popularity has hit an all-time low in the latest survey of his approval rating among Americans.
The man who dubbed himself Trump’s ‘tech support’ has only a 38 percent favorability with 60 percent having an unfavorable view of the billionaire X owner.
When it comes to his handling of DOGE, 41 percent approve and 58 percent disapprove of his job, according to the latest Marquette Law School national survey.
Musk and Trump have been virtually inseparable since just prior to November’s election victory.
Trump and Musk – as well as the billionaire’s son X Æ A-12, pronounced Ex-ash Ay-twelve – are often seen together at the White House.
The Tesla and SpaceX boss has attended Cabinet meetings and Oval Office gatherings, executive order signings and Trump rallies.
