The war criminals include former members of the SS, which was responsible for many crimes against humanity under Himmler's command during World War II. They also include former concentration camp workers, puppet administrators of Nazi-controlled areas, and company executives who made use of slave labor.
According to the report, about 5.7 million dollars went to individuals who were deported for having committed war crimes on behalf of the Third Reich.
More than 14 million dollars in social benefits were paid to those who were not deported, but who were found to have directly assisted the Nazis in war crimes during the time when millions of Jews were killed in the Holocaust.
The report comes seven months after the publication of an investigation by the Associated Press, which revealed the Justice Department used a legal loophole to persuade suspected Nazis to leave the United States in exchange for social security benefits.
Legislation closing the above-mentioned loophole was later passed by the US Congress; in December 2014, President Barack Obama signed the bill into law.
The payments took place between February 1962 and January 2015, when the No Social Security for Nazis Act was passed into law.