Former election official convicted of fraud for collecting dead mother’s Social Security benefits

AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT/Gray News) – A former South Carolina elections director was convicted of fraud after she reportedly obtained the Social Security benefits of her deceased mother.
A federal jury convicted Cynthia Delores Holland, 61, of Aiken, of theft of government property after fraudulently obtaining Social Security benefits
Holland was formerly the Aiken County Director of Voter Registration and Elections,
A guilty verdict was delivered following a day and a half of trial.

Evidence obtained in the investigation revealed that Holland improperly obtained her mother’s retirement benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA) after her mother died in 2013.
Those benefits continued to be paid by mistake into a joint account held by Holland and her mother.
Rather than notify the SSA of the error, Holland moved the money into her personal account and spent it.
Her theft took place in December 2022, when the error was discovered by the SSA, and the benefits were terminated.