He made fifteen different requests to the Family allowance of Haute-Garonne, under fifteen different identities, all usurped. This man, who multiplied the demands of
activity bonus (the supplement paid to modest incomes), and not only in Toulouse, is one of the emblematic cases detected in 2020 by the team of sworn controllers of CAF 31. “But we detected it quickly and it had not yet perceived unduly that 4,600 euros, specifies Martine Viero, the person in charge of the service of fight against fraud. Health crisis obliges, the “on-site visits” of his team have become scarce but they have often been replaced by telephone interviews or at the counter. Of the 2,436 files verified, 1,648 updated sums unduly received by beneficiaries and brought 6.5 million euros back into the coffers.
Controllers are only the third degree of verification for the most difficult to identify cases. The first, quite efficient and fully automatic, is quite simply a cross with data from Pôle emploi or taxes. The second, “datamining”, uses software to detect complex risky or dormant files, for example of beneficiaries whose professional or personal situation never changes. This arsenal of checks made it possible to identify 22 million allowances (or 1.1% of total benefits) unduly paid to 134,000 beneficiaries in 2020. But these overpayments are due to “unintentional errors”: changes in unreported situation, misunderstandings in the income to be declared. They fall under the “right to make mistakes” and have given rise, explains Céline Fourcade, the financial director, to “installment repayments or deductions on service”. She also advises to consult the site Oups.gouv.fr to acquire the right reflexes.
Identified fraudsters represent 0.22% of beneficiaries
In fact, the real fraudsters identified, those who make the headlines live abroad or knowingly omit to say that they work, create from scratch false documents are among 736 who tried to defraud 4 million euros in all to the community. The case of forty of them was directly sent to justice. “The number of identified frauds has tripled since 2012, our methods are more and more effective”, rejoices Jean-Charles Piteau the director of CAF 31. But he also puts into perspective, specifying that these 736 dishonest caught at fault represent “only 0.22% of beneficiaries”.
On the other hand, the Haut-Garonnais who do not perceive, by ignorance of the services, what they are entitled to are numerous. It is difficult to give an estimate, but already, “20 to 25% of controls generate”, paradoxically, “opening of rights”.