Whistleblower Alleges Former DOGE Employee Absconded With Americans’ Private Information in ‘Unprecedented Breach’

AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana

A whistleblower complaint alleged that a former “Department of Government Efficiency” staffer claimed he planned to share sensitive agency databases with his private employer, according to a new report.

DOGE was led by billionaire Elon Musk during his brief stint as a special government employee.

The staffer named in the disclosure, reviewed by The Washington Post, was described as a former software engineer for DOGE who had approved access to Social Security data while working at the agency. He allegedly told co-workers at a government contractor that he had highly restricted information about U.S. citizens, including Social Security numbers.

The staffer allegedly claimed to have access to the data through two databases called “Numident” and the “Master Death File,” one of which he had on a thumb drive. The Post noted in its report on the complaint that these claims “if true, would constitute an unprecedented breach of security protocols.” The databases contain records of more than 500 million living and dead Americans.

The former DOGE member allegedly said he continued to hold unrestricted “God-level” security access, along with his agency credentials and computer, even long after leaving DOGE. He said he had more access to this data, which also included places and dates of birth, citizenship, race and ethnicity, and parents’ names, than any other company employee working with the Social Security Administration, according to the complaint.

At least one of the events in which the former staffer spoke about his access to this information occurred in January, according to the complaint, which also states that the staffer told the whistleblower that he intended to use the data at the private company.

According to the complaint, he allegedly told the whistleblower that he needed help transferring data from a thumb drive “to his personal computer so that he could ‘sanitize’ the data before using it at [the company.]” The engineer told colleagues that once he had removed personal details from the data, he wanted to upload it into the company’s systems. He told another colleague, who refused to help him upload the data because of legal concerns, that he expected to receive a presidential pardon if his actions were deemed to be illegal, according to the complaint.

The former staffer also allegedly told the whistleblower he was permitted to have unrestricted access to to citizen’s Social Security information, though an SSA official familiar with the former DOGE member’s current status claimed the staffer had turned in his laptop and credentials upon leaving DOGE.

The Social Security Administration’s internal watchdog is investigating the allegations, The Washington Post reported, and the agency’s inspector general has alerted top members of four congressional committees about the report.

The inspector general at the Social Security Administration told The Post that the office did not find evidence to confirm the claims after a “thorough” internal investigation spanning two days. The former DOGE member’s lawyer told The Post that he denied all alleged wrongdoing.

Before the inspector general’s office began its investigation, Barton Mackey, an SSA spokesman, said in a statement that “the allegation by a singular anonymous source has been found to be false based on evidence and investigations by all involved.”

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