More than a million dead people were mailed federal stimulus checks earlier this year, according to a federal watchdog agency. A report from the Government Accountability Office says the IRS did not use government death records when distributing payments, leading to $1.4 billion in checks going to the deceased, which the IRS says must be returned.
“IRS does not currently plan to take additional steps to notify ineligible recipients on how to return the payments,” GAO said in a statement. “IRS should consider cost effective options for notifying recipients on how to return the payments; without which, ineligible recipients who would otherwise want to return the payment may be unaware how to do so.”
But according to an unnamed Treasury official, the department was not even aware of the issue "until it was reported in various media outlets."
“Treasury officials said that upon learning that payments had been made to decedents, Treasury and IRS, in consultation with counsel, determined that a person is not entitled to receive a payment if he or she is deceased as of the date the payment is to be paid," the official said.
Earlier this week, the White House indicated that another round of stimulus payments could be on the way...
Read the full report on Politico.