Massachusetts Governor Questioning Audit That Found More than 1,000 Dead People on Welfare

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick delivers his State of the State address in the House Chambers at the Statehouse in Boston, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013. (AP)

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick is questioning the accuracy of an audit that found the state paid millions of dollars in welfare benefits to more than 1,000 dead people.

Patrick, a Democrat, said while it would be "infuriating" for anyone to get benefits who wasn't entitled, "this audit report is of questionable accuracy."

"We were given only 178 of the cases on which it relies, and nine out of ten of the conclusions were wrong in those cases," Patrick said, according to the Associated Press.

The report from state Auditor ­Suzanne Bump released Tuesday said Massachusetts paid out $2.4 million between July 2010 and April 2012 to recipients who were either dead or using a dead person's Social Security number, according to the Boston Globe.

It also found another $15.6 million in electronic benefit card transactions that took place as far as Alaska and Hawaii -- suggesting the users didn't live in Massachusetts anymore or had the means to travel.

Patrick said he wants more information so the state's welfare agency can correct its records.

Still, he added, "It’s quite clear also from the audit that 99.99 percent of the money that the public spends in public benefits goes exactly where it’s supposed to go and to whom it’s exactly supposed to go."