Man says he was accidentally declared dead by social security and tax officials
- 7 months ago
A man says he was declared dead by social security and tax officials - which left him unable to drive, vote or claim tax returns for four years.
Jeff Athey, now 28, was stated as passed away by the US Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in 2017.
Jeff, a writer, actor and producer from New York City, had to fight for several years to get "legally resurrected".
From 2017 to 2021, Jeff was unable to renew his driving licence, which meant he couldn't.
His voter registration was removed, leaving him unable to cast his vote in the 2018 midterm elections.
And whilst able to pay taxes, he couldn't claim tax returns.
Jeff first realised he had been declared dead when his tax return was denied in March 2019.
He immediately went to a local SSA office and was met with an employee who had no idea how to carry out his request.
Jeff said: "They weren't upset because they had to do it. I think it bothered them because they had no idea how."
The SSA asked him for documentation to prove he was alive - which he provided - and corrected their records in April of the same year.
Unfortunately, this did not correct the records of any other organisations including the voter registration office or the IRS.
Jeff said: "They send a notification to everyone else when you die but they don't when you're resurrected.
"When I tried contacting the IRS it was impossible. I would get lost in a phone maze and then they wouldn't talk to me because I appeared dead.
"I was paying taxes the whole time but I couldn't get any money back."
Jeff was forced to contact the voter registration office to register again which allowed him to vote in the 2020 presidential elections.
Jeff remained dead in the eyes of the IRS until 2021, when he reached out to a congresswoman Yvette Clark.
Yvette Clark's office intervened and Jeff was finally "resurrected".
He was then able to claim his tax return, which amounted £2,480 ($3,000) over four years.
The ordeal has had a deep effect on Jeff, who lost faith in the organisations running his country.
Jeff said: "I was just a 20-something, I didn't have an answer to what was happening and every answer that people proposed seemed too expensive and too scary.
"It makes me more anxious and frustrated to deal with any government agency.
"The issue for everything was that no-one in the system was talking to anyone else, it was always up to me to find out and inform everyone."
Jeff Athey, now 28, was stated as passed away by the US Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in 2017.
Jeff, a writer, actor and producer from New York City, had to fight for several years to get "legally resurrected".
From 2017 to 2021, Jeff was unable to renew his driving licence, which meant he couldn't.
His voter registration was removed, leaving him unable to cast his vote in the 2018 midterm elections.
And whilst able to pay taxes, he couldn't claim tax returns.
Jeff first realised he had been declared dead when his tax return was denied in March 2019.
He immediately went to a local SSA office and was met with an employee who had no idea how to carry out his request.
Jeff said: "They weren't upset because they had to do it. I think it bothered them because they had no idea how."
The SSA asked him for documentation to prove he was alive - which he provided - and corrected their records in April of the same year.
Unfortunately, this did not correct the records of any other organisations including the voter registration office or the IRS.
Jeff said: "They send a notification to everyone else when you die but they don't when you're resurrected.
"When I tried contacting the IRS it was impossible. I would get lost in a phone maze and then they wouldn't talk to me because I appeared dead.
"I was paying taxes the whole time but I couldn't get any money back."
Jeff was forced to contact the voter registration office to register again which allowed him to vote in the 2020 presidential elections.
Jeff remained dead in the eyes of the IRS until 2021, when he reached out to a congresswoman Yvette Clark.
Yvette Clark's office intervened and Jeff was finally "resurrected".
He was then able to claim his tax return, which amounted £2,480 ($3,000) over four years.
The ordeal has had a deep effect on Jeff, who lost faith in the organisations running his country.
Jeff said: "I was just a 20-something, I didn't have an answer to what was happening and every answer that people proposed seemed too expensive and too scary.
"It makes me more anxious and frustrated to deal with any government agency.
"The issue for everything was that no-one in the system was talking to anyone else, it was always up to me to find out and inform everyone."