Ms. Walker turned to Lone Star Legal Aid after receiving a devastating notice from the Social Security Administration (SSA). The agency had stopped her disability benefits and claimed she owed more than $27,000 in overpaid benefits—an amount that later increased to over $33,000. SSA alleged the overpayment was due to wages earned from September 2016 to September 2018, even though Ms. Walker had not worked since suffering a serious workplace injury in 2018. She was also enrolled in SSA’s Ticket to Work program and had been the victim of identity theft—someone had been working under her Social Security number for years.
“I tried to work on it for two years and didn’t get anywhere,” said Ms. Walker. “Then I turned to legal aid. I needed some help.”
When Staff Attorney Channing Guidry reviewed the case, she found that SSA had sent multiple overpayment notices—starting with one in January 2019—and eventually stopped Ms. Walker’s benefits in December 2023. Ms. Walker never received the key notice mailed in November. Her objective was clear: she wanted to appeal or waive the overpayment.
Under SSA policy, recovery of an overpayment can be waived if the recipient is without fault and the client cannot afford to pay it back. If both criteria are met, SSA determines that repayment would either defeat the purpose of the Social Security Act or be against equity and good conscience. While there’s no deadline to file for a waiver, appeals must be filed within 65 days. Though SSA policy requires benefits to be restored once an appeal or waiver is filed, they continued to withhold Ms. Walker’s benefits.
Guidry filed a timely Request for Reconsideration and submitted a detailed memo to the SSA local office. She also represented Ms. Walker in two personal conferences. Despite this, SSA issued an unfavorable decision and continued to escalate the overpayment. Guidry then appealed to an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), submitting evidence that Ms. Walker had not worked since her injury and had been the victim of identity theft. She represented Ms. Walker in three separate ALJ hearings, responding to the judge’s repeated requests for additional documentation, including tax records, credit dispute letters, and a timeline of employment.
“The judge said, ‘I know you’ve turned in paper after paper, but I need this again,’” Ms. Walker recalled. “But God moved his heart. I prayed. God is a waymaker. He’s a changemaker.”
Despite the complexity and delays, Ms. Walker ultimately received a Fully Favorable decision, and the entire $33,097.33 overpayment was waived.
Guidry’s representation helped Ms. Walker avoid repaying a debt she did not owe—and brought resolution after years of confusion, financial stress, and hardship.
Although SSA has not yet reinstated her benefits or compensated her for the interruption, Ms. Walker remains deeply grateful:
“It was God. I truly needed help. He put it in Channing’s heart to get this done and used her as his vessel. I don’t take any credit or glory—it belongs to God.”
To others facing similar struggles, Ms. Walker offers this encouragement:
“Just trust God. Everyone is at a different level in their faith, but there are moments when God does his thing. I need God every second of my life. I know what He can do.”
Ms. Walker was freed from the burden of a $33,000 debt caused by identity theft and administrative error—and gained the peace of knowing someone was fighting for her.
Lone Star Legal Aid (LSLA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit law firm focused on advocacy for low-income populations by providing free legal education, advice, and representation. LSLA serves millions of people at 125% of federal poverty guidelines, who live in 72 counties in the eastern and Gulf Coast regions of Texas, and 4 counties in Southwest Arkansas. To learn more about Lone Star Legal Aid, visit our website at www.LoneStarLegal.org.
Media contact: media@lonestarlegal.org