Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is a program of the Social Security Administration (SSA) designed to provide benefits to American workers who have become temporarily or permanently disabled and are unable to work. Employees pay into Social Security through...
Blog
Supreme Court Ruling Allows Certain Convicted Felons to Possess Firearms
When a person is convicted of a felony, there are a number of collateral consequences in addition to the legal penalties of prison, fines, and probation. One of the most notable collateral consequences is the loss of a person’s right to possess a firearm...
IRS Scams
With tax season in full swing and the filing deadline looming, the IRS is warning of email scams aimed at obtaining personal information from taxpayers for the purpose of identity theft. In the phishing schemes, people are sent emails that appear to be from the...
Tax Evasion: Am I Guilty?
Earlier this month a Warr Acres man pleaded guilty in federal court to tax evasion after admitting to concealing income and establishing a shell corporation to avoid reporting payments from contractors on his tax return. Ricky A. Erwin agreed to pay $133,015 in...
Oklahoma Domestic Violence Laws
An Owasso man was arrested this weekend after allegedly punching and choking his sister-in-law in a case that highlights some of the lesser-known details of Oklahoma’s domestic violence laws. Police say Michael Sean Graves, 39, and his wife attended a reception...
What is Health Care Fraud?
The types of criminal fraud prosecuted by the state and federal government are virtually endless. From low-level cons to multi-million Ponzi schemes, the ways in which one person may dupe another are virtually limitless. Fraud is considered a white collar crime, and...
Social Security Disability Appeals Process in Oklahoma
Each year, more that 2.3 million people apply for Social Security Disability (SSD) benefits, and the majority of these applicants are initially denied. Approximately 30 percent of all applications–nearly 775,000 annually–are given technical denial for...
Oklahoma Ranks Near the Bottom in Kids Count Report
For years, Oklahoma has struggled with issues including child poverty, DHS supervision, and teen pregnancy. While our state certainly has a lot going for it as far as early childhood education and other child welfare initiatives, we clearly have a lot of...
When Good Samaritans Become Crime Victims
We sometimes hear of situations in which a person is attacked in broad daylight, in the presence of witnesses, and no one helps or does anything to intervene. Psychologists call this phenomenon “the bystander effect.” Interestingly enough, the greater...
Social Security Backlog Responsible for Delays in Obtaining SSD Benefits
The Social Security Administration (SSA) is faced with an enormous backlog of claims and applications at the agency’s Social Security DisabilIty program, a backlog that has created headaches and concerns for both the government and the disabled workers seeking...

