Poway's Congressman Helps Recover $2M in Benefits for San Diegans

SAN DIEGO, CA — U.S. Rep. Scott Peters, D-San Diego was expected to announce Thursday that his office has helped recover more than $2 million in federal benefits owed to San Diegans.

Peters and his San Diego staff have helped more than 2,000 constituents retrieve backlogged funds ranging from veterans and military benefits, to Social Security and Medicare payments, according to a news release. The benefits recovered include almost $1.3 million in benefits earned by veterans, $268,000 in Social Security payments for San Diego seniors, and more than $200,000 from the Internal Revenue Service.

Four constituents were scheduled to join Peters to tell their stories of how his office helped them recover the benefits they were owed.

Curtis Dietrich, a U.S. Army veteran who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and now lives in Scripps Ranch, contacted Peters’ office after spending over a year trying to sort out a discrepancy in his disability benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Peters’ office was able to work with the VA to reinstate his payments and recover $15,000 in overdue payments.

Laurie Price of Point Loma reached out when the Internal Revenue Service withheld a tax refund for two years due to an administrative error. Peters’ staff was able to resolve the misunderstanding and get them the more than $4,000 they were due.

Fernando Prado and Leonard Molnar of Coronado received assistance with Medicare and Social Security, and together had almost $12,000 in benefits recovered.

Peters urges San Diegans who are having trouble getting the benefits they have earned to reach out to his office or the office of their representative for assistance cutting through the bureaucracy and getting answers.