United States v. Johnson (In re Johnson)

MATTHEW F. KENNELLY, United States District Judge

To recover retirement benefits that John L. Johnson fraudulently obtained, the Social Security Administration (SSA) began to withhold disability-related benefits he was receiving from a separate program. After Johnson declared bankruptcy, the government asked the bankruptcy court to confirm that it could continue to withhold funds irrespective of the automatic stay under 11 U.S.C. § 362(a). The SSA argued that it could continue to withhold Johnson's disability benefit payments despite the automatic stay, because the withholding was a recoupment…