FCC: California, Texas, Oregon Took $5 Million in Reimbursements for Over 116K Dead People
“At least 16,774 (and potentially as many as 39,362) deceased individuals were first enrolled and claimed by a provider after they died (i.e. they were deceased at the time of enrollment).”
A new report from the Federal Communications Commission’s Office of the Inspector General revealed that California, Texas, and Oregon obtained $5 million in reimbursements for the Lifeline program for 116,000 dead people.
“Most troubling, at least 16,774 of the deceased Lifeline individuals were first claimed by a Lifeline provider after they died,” the OIG wrote. “Providers claimed more than $500,000 in Lifeline subsidies for purported service to these subscribers.”
California alone provided phone and internet service to more than 94,000 dead people.
“The FCC’s federal Lifeline program, which spends nearly $1 billion every year, does not have adequate checks in place to ensure that only lawful beneficiaries obtain those subsidies,” FCC Chairman Brendan Carr wrote on X. “There has been a recent rise in non-citizens fraudulently obtaining social security numbers. And the current verification process does not do a good enough job at preventing duplicative subscriptions and similar abuse.”
🚨New Inspector General Advisory shows millions of dollars approved by California to provide phone and Internet service to more than 94,000 dead people. pic.twitter.com/Jn3m40VBGC
— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) January 27, 2026
The FCC’s Lifeline program makes communications services affordable for low-income consumers. It includes phone, internet, or bundled services.
The monthly discount is $9.25.
The three states are “opt-out” states, which means they manage their own “eligibility verification and duplicate checking for the federal Lifeline program.”
That means the states are not subjected to the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) death checks.
However, Carr revoked California’s opt-out status in November after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation “that makes it effectively impossible for California to comply with federal program integrity obligations.” The moves included prohibiting the state from collecting social security numbers and sharing data with the federal government.
- Between December 2020 and September 2025, Lifeline providers sought and received approximately $5 million in program subsidies from FCC on behalf of nearly 117,000 deceased opt-out state subscribers.
- At least 16,774 (and potentially as many as 39,362) deceased individuals were first enrolled and claimed by a provider after they died (i.e. they were deceased at the time of enrollment).
- In September 2025 alone, providers sought and received Lifeline support for more than 11,000 deceased opt-out state subscribers, totaling approximately $100,000 in improper payments.
Carr has proposed reforms to the FCC’s Lifeline program, which the Commission will vote on next month. A few steps the FCC would like comments on:
• Ensuring that Lifeline support is used to benefit only legal, living, and eligible Americans consistent with section 254 of the Act, through enhanced requirements to ensure that program participants are truly eligible for Lifeline discounts;
• Improving program integrity and efficiency, including reforms applicable to the states that have been permitted to opt out of using the NLAD;
• Promoting more principled service provider conduct and ensuring that service providers that participate in the Lifeline program comply with all rules; and
• Streamlining Lifeline program rules and mimimizing [sic] stakeholder confusion.
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Comments
I would expect 3-6 months after death before notifying the FCC to stop payments.
Since this subsidy is not a common payment like social security checks which is generally well known that most descedents are receiving social security checks and known those payments need to be stopped.
I am a CPA and well tuned to financial matters, but even I didnt know there were subsidies of this type.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. These are *dead* people who are being enrolled and the checks funneled into scammer’s accounts. Obvious fraud. Less obvious will be people who go into retirement homes and their unused accounts being glommed together, collecting payments even though the services have been discontinued. That’s probably twice the fraud potential, if not more.
so how will this be prevented??
stopping the waste and fraud with no more scheme??
naw
they’ll probably hire more people to
“stop the waste”
$1000 hammers anyone?
so how will this be prevented??
stopping the waste and fraud with no more scheme?
naw
they’ll probably hire more people to
“stop the waste”
1000 dollar hammers anyone?
And the fraud rolls on
Seems pretty simple. End the opt out provisions. Prosecute the fraudsters who sign up/enroll the deceased and/or steal Social Security#/Identity to do so. When we begin treating identity theft seriously with harsh penalties that are actually handed down …say 5 years min to 15 years max for each offense then we’ll see some deterrence. No concurrent sentences, stack them consecutively so some goon who fraudulently used one SSA# ten times is looking at 50 years minimum sentence as a best case in a plea bargain.
Much simpler to end the subsidies from the federal government. They can’t be paid out fraudulently if they don’t exist.
Ouija board starts up all by itself:
“Hey, we had a deal! I voted for you and now I expect to get paid.”
“Some” MN cops don’t recall ever being dispatched for normal deaths of elderly Somalis in MN.
Hypothesis: the deaths are NOT being reported so that Granny’s welfare check and food stamps keep rolling in.
Follow up question: what happens to the bodies?
https://x.com/DataRepublican/status/2015865798905233532
We have the ABILITY and DATA SYSTEMS that should end all this “enrollment fraud”! Every US CITIZEN should have a SS# – a VALID ONE! Every Gov’t handout should REQUIRE a SS#! Every DEATH should be reported to the SS System! Every CAR purchased should require a SS#! When the SS# System is cross referenced with ANY application then a DEAD PERSON’s application should be FLAGGED and Prosecution should begin! I know when my Mom died SS was very quick to reclaim her SS Deposit – she died on the 22nd but the amount recovered didn’t seem to be prorated! Oh, and why should a car purchase be cross referenced? If someone is on welfare and can buy a car then that needs to be “looked at”!