A man from Washtenaw County, Michigan, rightly received the Social Security disability benefits funds due to him. But the man didn't want just one $18,000 disbursement, officials said. He allegedly wanted more, and that man now has been charged with stealing public funds.

In 2008, government documents say, the man cashed his check, and then returned to the local Social Security office to allegedly let officials there know he never received his check in the mail.

So the Social Security Administration sent him another check for $18,000. Then, he allegedly told the same story again and received yet another check in the same amount, officials said.

And once more, with $36,000 more than he was owed, the man again allegedly convinced agency officials that he had not received his $18,000 disability check, according to the government. It wasn't until his fourth attempt at obtaining money that Social Security officials recognized the man was scamming them, officials said. By that time, agency officials knew he had received not one, but four checks that had been cashed.

The man will appear in federal court in Detroit.

Disability benefits are intended for Americans who have an injury or illness so severe that they cannot work. Such benefits account for 15.5 percent of the payout of Social Security funds, according to the Social Security Administration. And according to a recent White House study, 10.6 million Americans are now receiving Social Security disability benefits.

With fears constant among beneficiaries that disability benefits will need to be cut because the Social Security disability trust fund may run dry, lawmakers and law enforcement should target people who scam the system. The only people it is hurting are those who actually need the benefits.

Source: Detroit Free Press, "Feds say Michigan man fooled them in disability case," Jan. 14, 2011