OIG investigates fraud cases that meet prosecutorial guidelines for the federal judicial
district where the fraud occurred. OIG has several other courses of action it can
take in addition to seeking federal prosecution. OIG may refer the case to federal,
state, or local courts.
In addition, under the Social Security Protection Act of 2004, the Office of the Chief
Counsel to the Inspector General may impose civil monetary penalties (CMPs) against
persons who make or cause others to make, false statements (including wrongful conversions
by representative payees) or omissions of material facts to our agency. There is no
required or suggested minimum dollar loss to refer an allegation for CMP consideration.
For cases that OIG does not open as a criminal investigation, they will advise if
the case meets the criteria for sanctions. For more information on the disposition
of OIG’s investigations, see GN 04123.005. For more information on the criteria for
imposing administrative sanctions, see GN 02604.405.