RELEASE: Gottheimer Joins North Jersey Families Helped With Military Pension Back Pay, Health Insurance Coverage, IRS Refunds, and More

Above: Gottheimer joins Jersey constituents.

HACKENSACK, NJ — U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) joined North Jersey constituents, including veterans, seniors, nurses, and local families, to discuss how his office helped them receive benefits and services they were owed from federal agencies and private companies. Their cases included military pension back pay, health insurance coverage, identity theft, immigration paperwork, and delayed IRS refunds.

Gottheimer’s full remarks can be found here.

“One of the most important parts of my job is being an advocate and a champion for the families I’m lucky to represent here in North Jersey. By fighting for our Fifth District families, we’ve helped thousands of residents who’ve been denied Social Security checks, unemployment benefits, VA benefits, critical health care, tax refunds, or crucial resources they need, often because of bureaucratic red tape,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5). “Whether it’s the IRS, an insurance company, or a federal agency that’s gotten it wrong, I’ll always fight for Jersey families across the Fifth District to get what they are owed and deserve. If you need help with any issues, including Medicare, Social Security, passports, VA benefits, and so much more, please reach out to me.”

In the last five years alone, Gottheimer’s office has helped more than 780 veterans access their VA benefits and service medals; more than 1,834 Fifth District seniors access their earned Social Security checks and claw back over $2.6 million from the Social Security Administration; get more than 65 constituents back home from being trapped overseas, including some stranded in Israel after October 7; more than 4,500 constituents get their unemployment benefits; and claw back over $120 million owed to small businesses, non-profits, and constituents from the IRS. In total, Gottheimer’s office has clawed back more than $173 million to date for constituents through its casework team. Just among the cases highlighted today, the office helped get back more than $171,000 for Fifth District families.

Gottheimer joined Fifth District residents today:

• Tom Gallagher of Mahwah: Tom’s brother, Retired Air Force Major John P. Gallagher, served in the U.S. Air Force for over 20 years and now lives in an assisted living facility after being diagnosed with early dementia. Tom holds power of attorney and looks out for him. For five months, Retired Major John’s pension was not being deposited because his bank account had been closed due to fraudulent and unauthorized withdrawals. Tom reached out to Gottheimer’s office for help working with the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS), and Gottheimer’s team got right to work and contacted DFAS. The next day, DFAS processed John’s forms and placed his pension account back in active pay status. Within a week, DFAS confirmed the issue was resolved and that his brother’s back pay had been issued. In less than two weeks, Tom confirmed that his brother’s owed pension had received the gross pay he earned after waiting for five months.
• Suzanne Jackson of Highland Lakes: Suzanne is a registered nurse who has spent more than 40 years caring for patients at Englewood Hospital. This past July, she reached out to Gottheimer’s office after UnitedHealthcare denied coverage for a prosthetic limb, initially deeming it not medically necessary. Although her doctor said she qualified for a K3 prosthetic with a microprocessor knee, UnitedHealthcare only approved a K2 prosthetic after her first appeal, which meant she could not continue working 12-hour shifts as a nurse. After months of fighting the decision, and being unable to reach anyone at UnitedHealthcare to escalate her appeal, Suzanne turned to Gottheimer. His team contacted UnitedHealthcare and asked them to take another look. Just a day later, UnitedHealthcare approved the K3 prosthetic with a microprocessor knee, and Suzanne is still on the job at Englewood Hospital.
• Joey Shimm of Tenafly, on behalf of his wife, Yoko: Yoko’s green card arrived with a typo, an extra initial in her name, and the replacement came back with the very same mistake. When Yoko’s 95-year-old mother suffered a cerebral hemorrhage in Japan, Yoko needed a USCIS-approved travel document to get to her side, and the earliest appointment USCIS would offer was after her planned flight. Joey turned to Gottheimer’s office. His team immediately contacted the USCIS Newark Field Office Congressional Lead and secured an appointment for the very next day. Yoko received an ADIT stamp in her Japanese passport, which provides temporary proof of her lawful permanent resident status, and she traveled to Japan to be with her hospitalized mother. Gottheimer’s office will keep working with the family until the green card itself is fully corrected.
• Robert Lunzer of Englewood: For a year, money had been coming out of Robert’s monthly Social Security retirement benefit, and he had no idea why. It turned out to be from missing payments on a more than $93,000 Small Business Administration (SBA) COVID loan he never took out. The application didn’t even have his real name on it, only a signature he never signed, and the money was going to an offshore bank account. After two weeks of getting nowhere with the SBA, Robert called Gottheimer’s office. His team contacted the SBA the very next day, and the inquiry was sent to the SBA’s fraud unit. In just one week, the SBA validated Robert’s identity theft claim, forgave the entire $93,600 fraudulent debt, stopped the garnishment of his Social Security benefits, and refunded about $4,500 to him in a lump sum.
• Ann Marie and Jim Dunlop of Haworth: Ann Marie and Jim, both in their eighties, filed their taxes in mid-March, on time. The IRS told them to complete an ID verification over the phone, and then they never heard another word, aside from a letter every six weeks saying the IRS needed more time. Gottheimer’s team contacted the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS), learned that the return was under review because of unverifiable income and withholding, and worked with Ann Marie and her accountant to gather the records needed to verify her withholding. Gottheimer’s office got the documents to TAS, a referral then went to the IRS, and in just a few short weeks, the Dunlops’ refund of more than $22,500 was in the mail.
• Kevin Noah of Vernon: Kevin filed his federal tax return, and eight months went by without a word from the IRS. When the agency finally asked for additional documentation, it was documentation he could no longer get his hands on. Kevin reached out to Gottheimer’s office. His team contacted TAS and followed up to explain Kevin’s situation, including that his wife, Maryellen, had stopped working in January  and that he had become her primary caregiver after she was hospitalized. In less than a month, Kevin’s refund of more than $7,000 was released. From his first call to a refund in hand, it took about a month. Kevin put it best: “This is how the government is supposed to work.”
• David Mitnick of Glen Rock: David and his wife, Shelly Berger-Mitnick, reached out to Gottheimer’s office for help with their federal tax refund and a penalty abatement request. After the IRS audited them and found them ineligible for the energy tax credit they listed, they learned they were actually eligible for the credit in the following year. David repaid the previous year’s federal income tax amount in full, requested a penalty abatement, and filed an amended return, but after more than eight months, no refund or decision came. Gottheimer’s office contacted TAS right away and worked with David and their CPA to get TAS the forms and documents it asked for. Two months after they first called, the IRS confirmed $4,427.59 for their penalty abatement and $20,413.78 for their federal tax refund, more than $24,800 in total was sent to them.

If you are experiencing an issue with a federal agency, Gottheimer and his Constituent Services Team are here to listen and help with VA benefits, Social Security, Medicare, passports, delayed IRS refunds, and more. Reach out to Gottheimer in Fair Lawn at 201-389-1100, by email at HelpNJ5@mail.house.gov, or visit Gottheimer.House.Gov for more information and resources.

Below: Gottheimer joins Jersey constituents.

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