IRS says living Tinton Falls boy is dead

Meet Tyler Andrew Washington.

He's dead.

That is, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

The 12-year-old boy, who rides a scooter, wishes he had a girlfriend and keeps a large, framed photo of a tractor-trailer owned by his dad's friend over his bed, is very much alive.

But he was declared deceased by the Social Security Administration two years ago. His aunt, Ellen Mirasola of Jackson, and his dad, Miguel Washington, have battled several agencies of the federal government to right the error.

The erroneous information in the IRS system came from the Social Security Administration.

After the Asbury Park Press called the administration Friday, a spokesman apologized to Mirasola within an hour and promised to immediately fix the glitch that got into the IRS's system, Mirasola said.

It's unknown how quickly that will happen. With Tax Day upon us, Tyler's erroneous death haunts the family. Last year, Miguel Washington successfully filed his 2013 taxes that listed Tyler as a dependent. But this year, the E-File system would not allow him to do the same. IRS staff told the 55-year-old Washington it was because his son was listed as dead, Washington said.

Taking care of son

Making $8.80 an hour as a van driver who transports people with disabilities, he can use the money, said the former long-distance trucker. He left that job behind a year and a half ago to care for Tyler, he said.

He and his son have been living at the Martin Motel on Route 33 in Tinton Falls with the help of public assistance ever since.

A spokeswoman for the IRS declined to discuss even general questions about cases like this because, she said, it could be applied to this specific case, and the IRS cannot discuss individual cases.

"He's driving me crazy every day so I know he's alive," Washington jibed, although his voice carried a hint of frustration. "He's a 12-year-old kid. Somebody's got to clear this up. What happens in five or six years when he goes to get a job? And I don't want to see this happen to someone else's kid."

John Shallman, spokesman for the Social Security Administration, declined to discuss details of the case because of privacy concerns. But Shallman did confirm that he spoke to Mirasola.

And he said, "All corrective actions have been taken and the Social Security Administration regrets any inconvenience, difficulties or problems this caused."

The Social Security Administration has run into accuracy problems before by reporting living people as deceased. From May 2007 through April 2010, the administration's Death Master File erroneously listed as many as 36,657 living individuals as dead, according to the administration's Office of Inspector General.

Frustration and humor

The official pronouncement of death frustrates the boy. The sixth grader at Tinton Falls Middle School greets it with gallows humor beyond his years.

"I just want to know where I'm buried and what I died of," Tyler said without smiling.

There is something far more important on the wall of the motel room than the photo of the truck: a picture of Tyler's mom, Bonnie Frankle, who died at the age of 41 on Jan. 22, 2013 of kidney disease. The error by the Social Security Administration occurred immediately after that tragedy in Tyler's life.

"We are sorry to learn that TYLER A. WASHINGTON, the person for whom you were receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments died January 22, 2013," read a form letter from the Social Security Administration office in Egg Harbor. "Please accept our sincere sympathy."

That letter was sent to Bonnie Frankle three weeks after she died. Mirasola was told by staff at the Social Security Administration office in Brick that "someone pushed the wrong button," Mirasola said.

Tyler lost benefits, like money for medication he was taking. Mirasola had to pay about $700 a month for that medicine, she said.

"Bonnie lived for her children," Mirasola said, about the mother of five. Tyler was her only child with Miguel Washington. "All she wanted in her life was for her kids to get a good education and get along with everybody."

Mirasola, who had temporary custody of Tyler during Frankle's decline, quickly began the process of declaring Tyler undead.

But because Mirasola did not have permanent custody of Tyler, his official death could not be reversed without a court order, staff at the Social Security Administration office in Brick told Mirasola, she said. Tyler's presence at the office did not matter.

The complication over custody sent Mirasola from Ocean County to Monmouth County.

Judge's order

A Family Court judge in Monmouth County, Leslie-Ann M. Justus, issued an order on March 15, 2013 that read, "This Court FINDS that Tyler Washington, born July 25, 2002, is alive and well, not deceased."

Although it took more than two months to straighten out, Tyler was declared alive by the Social Security Administration and Mirasola was reinstated as payee, something she had done temporarily as her sister was dying. Her status as payee was suspended when the mixup occurred.

It took another five or six weeks to have Tyler's benefits restored, she said.

But that wasn't the end of it.

In the fall of 2013, Miguel Washington applied to become Tyler's payee, but was told by the Social Security Administration office in Neptune that records there showed that Tyler was dead, Washington said.

Mirasola continues to be the payee. She drives from Jackson to Tinton Falls to hand the check over to Miguel Washington when she receives it, she said. Since Washington has a low income, the holdup in the transfer is keeping him and Tyler from receiving more money, Washington and Mirasola said.

Shallman would not discuss in detail the breakdown in communication between the Social Security Administration offices in Ocean and Monmouth counties.

"We'll have to deal with that," he said without elaborating.

Tyler, for his part, is working hard at being a kid, not an easy task in a motel complex where there are no other children. He drops in on adults living in the complex, plays soccer by himself and takes long walks in the woods, he said.

"It keeps me calm," Tyler said.

Although a boy lost in a bureaucratic mess, Tyler enjoys the strong support of his father and aunt.

Before Shallman vowed to make sure the Social Security Administration corrects the error, Miguel Washington told Tyler that nothing would stop him from trying to fix the problem until everyone knows Tyler is alive.

"If it kills me doing it, I'll just keep doing it," Miguel Washington said to the boy.

Ken Serrano: 732-643-4029; kserrano@njpressmedia.com