At the risk of diverting this discussion away from the original question, I have to ask about the validitiy of the check itself. The US Government has generally gone to electronic methods of payment for payroll, expense checks, Social Security, etc. How did this person come to possess an actual check?
Beyond that, I think we are all wondering what's missing from your description of the transaction as it seems most banks would simply accept a check, particularly one payable by the US Treasury to the customer, with the customer's endorsement for deposit to their account. AR.