‘Made me feel like a criminal,’ cries widow after Social Security says she owes $80,000 – mistake ‘was all their fault’

A WIDOW was forced to pay thousands of dollars into social security after the organization made a huge mistake.

Arizona resident Sabrina Fredricks was shocked when Social Security contacted her to say she owed $80,000 after the organization overpaid her.

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The Social Security Administration (SSA) has been contacting Americans across the country to notify them that they have been paying people too much for a substantial period of time.

As a result, the organization has been demanding that people pay thousands of dollars, even though they were never responsible for how much they received in the first place.

“It kind of made me feel like a criminal, like I was stealing from Social Security, which I didn’t. This was all their fault,” Fredericks told the local CBS affiliate. KTVK.

Social Security began taking money from his monthly payments, keeping him about $6,000.

It is estimated that Americans currently owe $21.6 billion to Social Security and are in the early stages of seeking reimbursement for the overpayment.

“Every person’s situation is unique and we address overpayments on a case-by-case basis,” a Social Security spokesperson said in a statement.

The association said it allows repayment plans starting at $10 a month for anyone who may owe the administration.

However, they cannot reveal how many people were able to join a payment plan, as the system they use “was not designed to easily determine” this information.

David Camp, interim CEO of the National Organization of Social Security Claimants Representatives, believes the organization is targeting a specific group of individuals.

“The vast majority of overpayments and recovery issues occur for SSI claimants who are poor and disabled,” he told the station.

Improper payments can happen for a variety of reasons.

“They are normally caused by difficulty understanding the forms and reporting information to Social Security. They are complicated programs,” he said.

“We urgently need Social Security to have a modern response capacity.”

US Representative Ruben Gallego announced in late December that he intends to introduce a bill that would limit the Social Security payment period.

“We should not punish individual U.S. citizens for an accident or mistake made by the U.S. government. And punishing them financially, to potentially ruin these families with very fixed incomes, is not what the government should do,” Gallego told the station.

Under his bill, Social Security would only have 10 years to recoup the refund.

‘I’M SCARED’

Millions of people were surprised by the SSA’s call for reimbursement of their own mounting bills.

Bonnie Nelson’s late husband was said to owe $34,048.40 from payments spread between January 2021 and August 2022.

“I don’t know where to go. I don’t know what to do. I’m scared to death,” she said the local station.

Social security withheld $1,900 a month from her, forcing her to depend on her family for help.

“My brother paid my bills last month because I have no money,” Nelson said.

“I only make $779 a month. I have a lot of rent to pay, I have a car payment, and I have insurance, just like everyone else. What should I do? Living on the streets?

Nelson only got help after finding out his financial hardship exemption had been granted.

“She said I won. She says, ‘You’ll get your first check on the 24th,’” Nelson told On Your Side.

“It means I can pay my bills and live like a normal human being. I can go to the supermarket. I can have food in my house.”