U.S. paid former Nazis $20 million in benefits, report says

Social Security card
(Image credit: iStock)

A federal investigation reportedly shows the U.S. government paid $20.2 million in Social Security benefits to more than 130 residents linked to Nazi war crimes, The New York Times reports. The payments, much higher than previously thought, were doled out over more than 50 years, with some as recent as last year.

Anonymous officials familiar with the report told the Times that authorities couldn't stop people with Nazi ties from getting benefits unless those individuals were deported. Roughly a quarter of the money went to more than three dozen ex-Nazis who were eventually deported. The Social Security Administration's inspector general is expected to release the report this week.

After an Associated Press investigation highlighted the money going to former Nazis, President Barack Obama signed the No Social Security for Nazis Act into law last December.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Continue reading for free

We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.

Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.

Julie Kliegman

Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.