77-year-old man isn’t getting his Social Security benefits because the government says he is dead: “I think they want to kill me”
One Long Island resident has attempted to prove he is alive on a number of occasions, to no avail.
Social Security benefits provide Americans across the United States with a welcome financial boost, although one man has been missing out on money he is due because the US government believes he is dead.
Despite declining health, Wilfredo Pagan is very much alive. However, his attempts to prove it have fallen on deaf ears.
As the administration has the 77-year-old listed as deceased, they claim there are no benefits for him to receive. Pagan has received numerous notices denying him his money, which would go a long way toward to helping him pay his medical bills, among others.
The Long Island resident has done his utmost to prove there has been a bizarre, and hugely damaging, understanding.
The Social Security Administration says Wilfredo Pagan is dead and keeps denying him benefits. As you can see, he’s very much alive. How we got him help at 5:30 pm #nbc4ny pic.twitter.com/sMHS2jxDBH
— Sarah Wallace (@SarahWallace4NY) February 11, 2025
Social Security card confiscated...but passport arrives
Upon taking his Social Security card to the Social Security office near his home in Freeport, he was told it was fake and had it confiscated, although the authorities failed to follow up their allegations of fraud.
Pagan then provided his birth certificate and other documentation to prove his Social Security number was genuine, but claims no one in the same office would deal with his case. He even used the number to get a new American passport at the start of this year, which arrived without any issues.
Social Security Administration “refuses to do anything”
“They say, we’ll do an investigation, and we’ll call you. And — nothing,” Deana Bain, his goddaughter, says of the Social Security Administration. “Everything has been blocked. And I’m not sure exactly why, but they just refuse to do anything”.
To make matters worse, despite previously learning there were no benefits for him to receive, Pagan was separately told an individual in the Dominican Republic was getting payments through his Social Security number, adding to the mystery.
“I am suffering because everyday I say, ‘Why do I deserve what happens to me?’” Pagan asks. “It’s a nightmare...I think they want to kill me.”
It is believed Pagan could be owed thousands of dollars in back benefits…if he can convince the Social Security Administration he is alive.
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