Elon Musk and his self-styled “Department of Government Efficiency” recently made headlines with claims of widespread unemployment fraud, citing cases of benefits being paid to deceased individuals, young children, and even someone allegedly born in 2154. The revelations, amplified by right-wing media and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, were framed as shocking new discoveries. However, experts and former officials say these findings are not new many were already identified and addressed during the Biden administration.
Andrew Stettner, former director of unemployment insurance modernization at the U.S. Department of Labor under Biden, dismissed Musk’s claims as “old news,” noting that fraud detection systems had long been in place. The Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) had previously flagged suspicious claims, including payments to individuals over 100 or under 14, as part of routine audits. Some cases Musk highlighted may not even be fraud but rather protective measures some states used placeholder birthdates for identity theft victims to ensure they could still access benefits.
Elizabeth Pancotti of the Groundwork Collaborative criticized Musk’s team for making sweeping claims without proper context, arguing that unemployment systems “work as intended” and that fraud detection had already been strengthened under Biden, including $2 billion in state funding for fraud prevention. The OIG had secured over 2,000 fraud convictions between 2020 and early 2025, recovering $1.1 billion.
While Musk and Doge framed their findings as exposing systemic failure, experts say the real issue is the underfunded state of unemployment systems which still wrongly deny thousands of legitimate claims each year. Amy Traub of the National Employment Law Project called the focus on fraud a “distraction” from the program’s vulnerability in a future recession.
The OIG declined to comment on Musk’s claims but pointed to publicly available fraud data last updated in December 2024 under Biden.
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