Did DOGE Really Catch Louisiana Man Who Used 34 Names, Social Security Numbers To Get $1.1M Every Year?

A Louisiana man is accused of pulling off an elaborate fraud, using 34 different identities to claim over £790,000 ($1 million) in Social Security benefits every year. Reports suggest the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) uncovered the scheme, which involved stolen names, addresses, and Social Security numbers.

But are any of these true? Here's what we know so far.

The Viral Claim

In February 2025, an online rumour alleged that DOGE uncovered a Louisiana man's scheme to obtain over £0.79 million ($1 million) annually in Social Security benefits, employing 34 identities. The rumour sparked inquiries from Snopes readers, who sought verification on the site. Social media platforms like X and Facebook also featured posts sharing the claim.

Some posts featured a meme with an image of Elon Musk holding a chainsaw. The 53-year-old business magnate has been linked to DOGE since Trump announced the initiative in a Truth Social post last year.

The meme's text highlighted: 'WOW' and 'Doge discovers Louisiana man with 34 different names, addresses, and social security numbers. He was collecting $1,168,646 in SS per year.' Essentially, the claim lacked any verifiable evidence. A Google search for 'Louisiana,' '34 names,' and 'Social Security' yielded no credible reporting, only fact-checking articles debunking the story.

Decoding The Louisiana Man Rumour

The official DOGE X account and website also provided no information regarding the claim. According to a 25th February article by Lead Stories, two social media accounts, neither considered credible, appear to have initiated the claim's online distribution.

The meme that subsequently appeared on Facebook and X was first posted on 21st February by the TikTok account @the.oligarchy. The account's posting history revealed a pattern of memes alleging DOGE's discovery of numerous purported fraud cases.

While the account lacked a clear satire disclaimer, and many commenters seemed to take the memes seriously, the alleged fraud cases often appeared outlandish and wildly satirical. For example, one of the account's posts read: 'DOGE finds $48,500 in taxpayer money was used to purchase thousands of feet pics off the web.'

Another read, 'Musk and DOGE discovered that USAID used $83,000 in taxpayer funds to buy Fruity Pebbles for the people of Somalia. Fruity Dyno-Bites are the same thing and MUCH cheaper.'

Three days later, on 24th February, X account @DOGEtracker69 repeated the claim, posting: 'BREAKING: #DOGE discovers a Louisiana man with 34 different names, addresses, and social security numbers. He was collecting $1,168,646 in SS per year!'

The post featured a 'BREAKING' gif with white text on a red background. The gif's background showed the logo of Turkey's Anadolu Agency, which had no related articles on its site at the time of writing.

The Real DOGE, Please Stand Up

Some X users believed @DOGEtracker69 was officially linked to DOGE, likely due to its verified badge and a link to the official DOGE website in its profile. While many of the account's DOGE posts were fictional, some included accurate details, such as the claim about DOGE finding £1.59 billion ($2 billion) designated for a Stacey Abrams-linked nonprofit.

Yet, there was nothing to indicate the account owner's official affiliation with DOGE. DOGE's official X account, @DOGE, features a grey verified badge, indicating X has confirmed it as an authentic government or multilateral organisation account.

In contrast, @DOGEtracker69 had a blue verified badge available to paid X users meeting specific criteria. Furthermore, the inclusion of '69' in its handle cast doubt on its credibility. Know Your Meme points out that '69,' a reference to a sex position, has been used in crude internet humour and memes since the early 2000s.