A Global News investigation is revealing the many ways the Social Development and Poverty Reduction Ministry is exposed to potential fraud.
Whistleblowers have come forward with allegations that the ministry is handing out what could be millions of dollars to help people who don’t really need it.
“There’s fraud, a ton of fraud, and we’re not being responsible with the funds and I don’t think that the average person has any idea what’s really going on,” a whistleblower who has more than 20 years of experience in what is now called the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction told Global News.
Global News has agreed to keep her identity anonymous.
She said there is little accountability and managers are turning a blind eye.
She added they are not asking for verification, “mostly because of being overwhelmed with increasing caseload.” She said there are also “political concerns” meaning “trying to take back monies or hold clients accountable, there’s very little appetite to do that.”
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“There are strategies put in place to complete the work faster, which means we are letting certain things go, such as proper verification.”
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More and more people are applying for assistance in B.C. every day and staff are being encouraged by bosses to just issue cheques to all people, often skipping proper verification.
“Clients can be anyone in all walks of life, have mental health or adopt addiction issues, to people who run businesses within our community and are financially successful,” the whistlerblower said.
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“It’s people who have much more money in their bank account than I do or probably anyone on this block.”
Global News has obtained documents, rife with numerous examples, flagged by multiple ministry staff this past year alone.
Applicant one had more than $100,000 cash, disqualifying them for disability assistance. This does not include their house, vehicle, and some investments. So they dumped $30,000 on their son’s annual private school tuition. The government check was approved, with no repercussions for disposing of assets.
Applicant two overpaid almost $10,000 in shelter allowance they never should have received after failing to tell the ministry their financial situation had vastly improved. Three years passed and the ministry never checked.
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If approved, the penalty is repayment of $20 a month, with no interest, and more than 41 years to return the money owed to taxpayers.
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Applicant three received more than $6,000 a month in government money for the family, minus shelter expenses. There’s almost $5,000 left in the bank every month, but the client is still asking for more money in crisis supplements to cover food and clothing.
“We take an oath of employment that we’re going to be careful fiscally,” the whistlerblower said, adding that it feels like she is lying and being asked to do something that’s not fair or to be held accountable to a certain measure, but then incapable of fulfilling it.
About a quarter of a million people receive income and disability assistance every month in B.C. with the projected budget being $1.6 billion over the next three years.
The ministry’s data shows the number of cases are rising and the whistleblower says the current situation is untenable.
“We used to really put an emphasis on employment and supports to people to put them in better situations to move them towards independence,” she said.
“That was the goal of the program, and we’ve just moved so far away from that. I would like to see us properly verify eligibility and really help those people who truly are in need.”
-with files from Rumina Daya
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