Madonna was wrong. Coronavirus is not the Great Equalizer. Rather, it is the Great Revealer. Pandemics…and money…bring out people’s true characters.
For some, that meant hoarding. For others, price gouging. For millions of second (or third, etc.) wives and families across America it meant watching in horror as their Eip Stimulus Checks were silently accepted by their husband’s ex-wives.
Due to a 11+ year con and SSDI fraud, Michael and my Stimulus Checks were stolen too. That’s $2,400 not received by a terminally ill man who served his country and me, his wife and caregiver. Like so many of you, our stimulus checks were silently accepted by his ex.
It doesn’t get much lower than that.
I could get angry and raise a fuss…but what’s the point? I’d rather take a leaf from Will Roger’s book and use humor. Like when Michael first introduced me to his children in 2012 and said, “What’s it like having three kids?” I joked, “Labor was remarkably easy”…and nobody laughed. Not one smile or chuckle from the kids. Uff-da, tough crowd.
It suddenly occurred that the least Michael’s ex-wife could do with our money is to be generous. It’d be a new experience for her. She might enjoy it. So I sent my step-kids an email. Blah, blah, blah…small talk…ah, here’s the important bit:
I just wanted to let you know that if you have any need for funds, two weeks ago your mother was sent [your father] Michael and my stimulus checks in the amount of $2,400. As she apparently intends to keep these monies, especially my $1,200, the least she can do is to gift 1/3 to each of Michael’s children. I know you all have needs and wants…bills, house repairs, wedding expenses, etc…so I suggest you contact your mother ASAP.
Response? My oldest step-daughter who’s engaged to Mr. Right “For Now” (her words), bitch-slapped me back by email. Okey-dokey then. Pay for your own wedding gown. I tried.
Now I know most people’s response to hearing that billions of dollars of stimulus checks have been sent to ex-wives will be a knee-jerk, “Well, if he didn’t owe his ex, this couldn’t possibly have happened. You’re just sour grapes. Obviously, he’s a deadbeat dad.”
Think again, Honey. I once was wide-eyed and trusting too. Ah, those were the good ol’ days.
According to thousands of posts on Facebook and fifty pages of comments on Intuit, by flabbergasted men and their desperate wives, who also saw the $500 for the children they have together received by the ex, each situation is unique…but similar.
Some are recently divorced and remarried.
Some are absolutely tickety-boo up-to-date on Child Support and were told there was a “glitch” in the system. Gotta love those glitches.
All have been told to file IRS Form 8379, “Injured Spouse Allocation.” Many already did…every single year without fail. The government apparently ignored it, probably choosing speed in sending out the EIPs over detail.
In our situation, this isn’t a glitch or a boo-boo. It’s only the latest theft enabled by an 11+ year ongoing SSDI fraud by Michael’s ex. In 2009, she received, in the presence of witnesses, several large checks directly from SSDI in full payment of the back child support accrued during Michael’s long illness. She chose to pretend she never received these checks which were the lion’s share of Michael’s SSDI initial payout. She then took him to court to seize his minuscule portion of the payout, his car, demand $300/month SSDI garnishment, etc. (She’s been known to gamble away the child support and was convicted for housing fraud.)
When Judge Lisa Stark (God bless her!) declined these demands and shamed her for persecuting a terminally ill man, the ex decided to re-collect the already-paid-off accrual for a second time directly from SSDI. All she had to do was stay quiet…just as she’s keeping mum about accepting our EIP Stimulus Checks now.
How does it feel to pay her twice, my fellow taxpayers? Not so good, eh. Well, brace yourselves. You still have seventeen years of re-paying her left to go. How’s about them apples!?
All that went down long before I met Michael…but this current EIP theft facilitated by the original long con is personal. I always said someday the ex would go too far and awaken the sleeping giant, filling me with great resolve. Eight years is a long time to wait for the final straw but I used my time wisely. What was that great line Norma Shearer had in The Women?
Last week, I was assured by a personal contact at the IRS that they will be collecting all the EIP stimulus checks from the wrongful recipients. C’mon, Baby!!
It’s a crime to fraudulently keep Social Security / SSDI money that doesn’t belong to you. When they make a booboo it does not sanction you keeping the money. How is this EIP situation any different!?! We all know exactly how much we were supposed to receive. My husband’s ex certainly knows as she’s quick to remind you that she has a Masters Degree in Mental Health Counseling.
Seems to me that similar laws that apply to SS/SSDI fraud should apply to EIPs during a freaking pandemic! This is not the time to persecute the ex, his current wife and his hungry children for past grievances. The stimulus check is to keep Americans from starving…not compensate yourself for a personal vendetta over what he may or may not have done. There are two sides to every story.
If you are in possession of an EIP Stimulus Check(s) that doesn’t belong to you, here’s a novel idea:
Give it to the rightful owner
(and carefully document that you’ve already one so.)
Please tell me someone, somewhere, has already done the right thing. It’s a question of ethics, of morals, of good character.
The coronavirus and stimulus check debacle have revealed to ourselves exactly what kind of people we really are. Me? I’d like to think I’m funny but my friend Molly posted that I “have high personal standards of civil behavior, AND a Pollyanna outlook.” Ah, shucks, stop.
So what kind of person are you?
