SHAWNEE, Kan. — Within the last several months, millions of people have received stimulus checks that weren't intended for them, but instead for their deceased relative.
“When they sent the check, they knew that she had passed away and she passed away in August of 2018,” Gary Davidson said.
Davidson received a relief payment for his deceased mother-in-law. Mark Preston told 41 Action News he received a payment for his deceased father.
“The check was deceiving because the check was made out in my fathers name and then it said deceased and then it had my name as personal representative,” said Preston.
Both Davidson and Preston received a COVID-19 stimulus check for their loved who who passed away in 2018.
Davidson told 41 Action News that he held on to the check while he attempted to reach the IRS. Preston said he reached out to his accountant for answers.
“The first thing he told me is don’t cash the check and then he gave me the procedures that I needed to do to return the check to the IRS,” Preston said.
The Government Accountability Office, an independent investigative agency that reports to congress, said Thursday that $1.4 billion in stimulus checks went to people who are deceased.
"I just think they were in such a rush to get the stimulus checks out and I understand that, people needed help but I just think they overlooked a lot of things,” Preston said.
According to a government report, the first three batches of stimulus payments used procedures from 2008, which did not include using death records as a filter.
“There was just no information on what to do with these checks. People probably just deposited the check and went on with life,” Davidson said.
At the same time, 41 Action News interviewed multiple people who are still waiting on their checks. A congressional committee says more than 30 million people are still waiting on their payments.
“I just can’t imagine still needing that money and they’re already talking a second round of stimulus payments and people haven’t received the first one yet,” Preston said.
The IRS and Treasury Department have agreed that payments to dead people should be repaid; however, there is currently no plan at the agencies to take additional steps to notify ineligible recipients on how to return the money, according to the report.
According to the report, the IRS does not have a plan to notify ineligible recipients of relief checks.
