Man's hard fought disability benefit check stolen out of mail | 7 On Your Side
NEW YORK (WABC) -- A Queens man who fought for disability benefits for almost a decade finally got the money he was owed last Christmas, but then the check got stolen out of the mail.
This was a big check for more than $64,000. When it went MIA, he sent an SOS to 7 On Your Side.
Check fraud is rampant, checks we write and send get washed, as 7 On Your Side showed you how easy it is to wipe the ink away and forge a check.
But this story has to do with checks coming to you from the government, unemployment, social security checks, and tax refunds.
This missing check has been on quite a journey, and the irony of fighting for the money since 2015 finally getting it this year and then it gets hijacked in transit.
"I've been dealing with this for over 9 years," said Sean Robinson, disability recipient.
Just shy of a decade ago, Robinson was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease and had to stop working.
"I had a sharp pain and my legs gave out and that was it," he said.
His disability claim was denied year after year until last year, when an attorney helped win his appeal for benefits and he was approved for benefits back to 2015.
"Oh I was elated!" Robinson said.
He had remarried just before his back diagnosis and had a son, Yousef is now 10, and Robinson's wife has been supporting the whole family.
"Which kills me," he said.
His back benefits were worth $64,000. Robinson said he requested a direct deposit onto a new social security direct express account.
The U.S. Treasury instead issued a $64,000 check, back on December 18.
The check was supposed to be in the mail, except he never got it. But someone else did."
"It was hijacked, God knows where, but it was cashed in New Jersey with a guy with an ID from Pennsylvania," Robinson said.
The check without a signature was deposited by someone who put their photo on a fake license and used Sean Robinson's name.
"I had to call and they said, 'You received and cash,' and I said, 'No, I did not,'" he said.
That was in January and every time he checked on his big check, they would say they were working on it.
"They didn't do anything. They just kept kicking it back and forth like an unwanted soccer ball," Robinson said.
Robinson said he had been there six times in six months and couldn't get answers or his money.
He was so frustrated one day, that he walked out.
He got 7 On Your Side involved and the U.S. Treasury Bureau of Fiscal Services thanked 7 On Your Side for bringing this delay to their attention.
"All of a sudden I'm getting a call from Treasury from SSA," he said.
His lump sum of more than $62,000 was put directly into Robinson's new bank account.
"Thank you, 7 On Your Side," he said.
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