There has been an announcement of the losses caused to the State’s financial statements by social fraud: 636 million.
Figures that go beyond the 2/3% that are statistically accepted and considered in the implementation of a legislative mechanism of this magnitude.
The Alpes-Maritimes allocated 132.4 million euros to the payment of the RSA in 2014, with nearly 25,000 recipients.
Since early 2012, the departmental services have established an “anti-fraud” unit to verify the legitimacy of applicants in order to address the phenomenon of rights abuse, which allows individuals to illegally profit from public assistance.
A first assessment can be made after two years of the implementation of a well-organized system that ranges from the screening of application files to the suspension of rights for non-compliance with obligations.
A subsequent measure applies against many profiteers and fraudsters, some of whom have the appearance of delinquents: administrative fines for less significant cases deliberated by a committee or referral to court in all other cases.
The application of these procedures is globally estimated at 20 to 25 million euros depending on the scope considered.
On an annual basis, a recovery of 10/12 million euros can be estimated, which represents a little less than 10% compared to the cost for departmental finances.
For Eric Ciotti, “it is our duty to be firm and strict, especially with the reduction of State allocations, the department must make savings, the first of which is not to spend what is not due.”
But the President of the General Council wanted to go even further: to monitor long-term RSA beneficiaries. Again, a significant percentage of people were subject to suspension procedures for justified grievances or additional scrutiny.
By applying an “extensive” interpretation of a regulatory provision of the Social Action and Family Code, 10 beneficiaries were recently removed from the RSA.
For 2015, these actions will continue and even be intensified. They are expected to be even more effective thanks to access to RSI and CAF records, which will provide more information and allow for data matching.
Eric Ciotti’s determination is unwavering. For him, “a person who commits fraud must be removed from RSA benefits because fraud is an unbearable attack on trust, solidarity, and the social fabric.”
