Rep. Jasmine Crockett is not cashing her grandmother’s Social Security checks. That came from satire

A viral TikTok post said U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, has been conning Social Security, without offering proof.

“Jasmine Crockett says she ‘simply forgot’ to inform Social Security that her grandmother died in 2012,” an April 5 TikTok post said, sharing a photo of Crockett. “She’s been collecting $2,600 a month for 13 years.”

The claim took off in English and Spanish. A listener called a Spanish radio station in Miami on April 10 to ask the host about its veracity. 

But this is a recycled claim that originated from a self-described satire website. We found no credible news reports or public statements from Crockett about this claim. Crockett’s office did not respond to our questions.

The TikTok’s story originated with America’s Last Line of Defense, a Facebook page that posts satirical content. On April 4, the account shared a Facebook post linking to an affiliated fake news site with the headline, “Jasmine Crockett ‘Forgot’ to Report Grandmother’s Death, Collected Social Security for 13 Years.”

“Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett is in hot water after a shocking revelation that she has allegedly been collecting $2,600 a month in Social Security payments for her late grandmother, who has been, inconveniently for her defense, dead since 2012,” the satirical story said. “When confronted, Crockett reportedly shrugged and said, ‘Oops.’”

On April 10, America’s Last Line of Defense made a new post that contained the same image on the video from the TikTok.
But the source of this claim is Dunning-Kruger Times, another site within the parody network.

We have seen the same false claim lobbed against U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. We rated that Pants on Fire! 

We’ll do the same for this claim involving Crockett. It’s Pants on Fire!