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I-1-2-81. Evidence or Allegations of Violations of Law

If the hearing office (HO) or Appeals Council (AC) has evidence or receives allegations of violations of the statute or regulations pertaining to charging or collecting fees, the HO or AC staff must refer the matter by memorandum to the Office of General Law in the Office of the General Counsel :

The referring office also will provide complete documentation of the incident or actions in question.

To refer the case to the OGC, do the following:

1. Prepare a brief memorandum for signature of the HO Chief Administrative Law Judge or the Deputy Chair of the AC describing the alleged violation and summarizing the facts of the case.

2. Assemble existing evidence pertaining to the alleged violation including:

   • copies of any available files;

     NOTE:

     Because the claim file may already be with another component, indicate in the referral what action has been taken to locate the claim file and what arrangements have been made to have it forwarded to the OGC.

   • documents or statements from the claimant(s) or other persons alleging fee violations;

   • names, addresses and telephone numbers of witnesses (indicate their relationship to the claimant/beneficiary);

   • originals or copies of bills or receipts the representative issued to the claimant;

   • originals or copies of cancelled checks or money orders from the claimant, payable to the order of the representative;

   • copies of any offer of an opportunity to correct the situation that is made to the representative; and

   • copies of fee agreements.

3. Indicate whether the HO or AC has received other complaints concerning the representative.

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