Elon Musk took to social media to allege that the identities of deceased people, or "non-existent" people, were being used by unauthorized persons to collect federal paychecks.
Musk sent out an email to federal employees across departments on Saturday in which he asked them to justify their jobs, requesting that they "reply to this email with approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished this week and cc your manager."
"The reason this matters is that a significant number of people who are supposed to be working for the government are doing so little work that they are not checking their email at all!" he wrote, explaining the correspondence on X (formerly Twitter).
"In some cases, we believe non-existent people or the identities of dead people are being used to collect paychecks. In other words, there is outright fraud," he continued.
The reason this matters is that a significant number of people who are supposed to be working for the government are doing so little work that they are not checking their email at all!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 23, 2025
In some cases, we believe non-existent people or the identities of dead people are being used… https://t.co/Rj5Xe6vYZB
FBI Director Kash Patel instructed FBI employees not to respond to Musk's email in an email of his own.
"FBI personnel may have received an email from OPM requesting information. The FBI, through the Office of the Director, is in charge of all of our review processes, and will conduct reviews in accordance with FBI procedures. When and if further information is required, we will coordinate the responses. For now, please pause any responses," said Patel in the email, obtained by NBC News.
"It is cruel and disrespectful to hundreds of thousands of veterans who are wearing their second uniform in the civil service to be forced to justify their job duties to this out-of-touch, privileged, unelected billionaire," said Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), in response to Musk's email.
"AFGE will challenge any unlawful terminations of our members and federal employees across the country," he continued.
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