When I worked for a state university it was common knowledge that some people stopped showing up to work and have been getting paid for years. Usually they go on medical leave or vacation and just never come back. We had a list of ones we knew or suspected because every time we would do backend changes requiring lists of active employees those people's data would throw wrenches into the system. We weren't allowed to not include them in things because they were still employed

So it could be fake but also the government already doesn't know what it's doing on the best of days and these are not the best of days