SC election official guilty of collecting her dead mom’s Social Security for years

For nearly 10 years after her mother died, former Aiken County election official Cynthia Holland kept on collecting her dead mom’s monthly Social Security checks, according to federal prosecutors.

The checks — some $168,000 over the years — flowed by electronic deposit into a joint bank account Holland shared with her late mother. Then Holland transferred the money to her own bank account.

But no free ride lasts forever.

On Tuesday, after a two-day criminal trial, a federal jury in Columbia found Holland, 61, guilty of stealing the Social Security payments due her late mother, Ruth Smith Holland. She died in 2013 at the age of 70.

Holland, who is the former longtime director of voter registration and elections in Aiken County, will be sentenced at a later date at an as yet unscheduled hearing.

Holland was one of several witnesses put up by the defense in its futile effort to win an acquittal.

Holland contended she did not intend to steal the money. In 2023, after she learned she was under investigation for collecting her mother’s Social Security checks, she paid back $100,000 to the Social Security Administration, according to evidence in the case.

In May 2024, Holland retired from her top Aiken County elections post after spending 25 years in that office.

Two months later, in July 2024, she was quietly indicted by a federal grand jury on theft of public money charges.

Computer software led to Holland’s downfall.

A joint program — known as the “Death Match Project” — whereby the inspector general for the Social Security Administration compared state death verification records with Social Security payments made to South Carolina residents led to the discovery of Holland’s theft, according to evidence in the case.

Holland’s mother’s name was on the death records list, which initiated the investigation.

Federal Judge Joe Anderson presided over the trial.

Holland’s attorneys, Tristan Shaffer from Irmo and Andrew Johnson and Jonny McCoy from Myrtle Beach, told The State on Wednesday they intend to appeal.

A key issue in the appeal will be Judge Anderson’s refusal to allow the jury to hear evidence about Holland’s repayment of $100,000 to the Social Security Administration before she was indicted, Holland’s lawyers said in a statement.

“This money was to pay back, in part, SSA for the overpayments they mistakenly made to Ms. Holland. After SSA accepted those funds, they then established a monthly payment plan with Ms. Holland to cover the remaining balance of the overpayment. Ms. Holland followed the payment plan until SSA informed her via letter that there was ‘no longer an overpayment.’ The letter sent to Ms. Holland advised her not to send additional payments unless notified otherwise. Without any notification, she was indicted 10 months later.

“Ms. Holland understands the nature of the offense and the severity of the allegations against her. However, mistakes were made on the part of the SSA and the criminal conviction against Ms. Holland does not reflect the extenuating circumstances,” the lawyers said in their statement.

Judge Anderson refused to let defense evidence about the $100,000 payment into the trial after getting a motion from government prosecutors that pointed out that Holland only began repaying the money after the government learned her mother was dead.

“After the initiation of the investigation, (Holland) funneled over $100,000 in payments back to the Social Security Administration (SSA). Because these payments took place after the investigation had begun, and because a full explanation of the circumstances regarding these repayments would likely confuse the issues and mislead the jury, evidence of the repayments should be disallowed,” prosecutors wrote to Judge Anderson in a motion.

Holland’s payment of $100,000 is “akin to a bank robber dropping ill-gotten bags of money when confronted by a guard. Any insinuation that Cynthia had somehow ‘made things right’ would be misleading the jury into thinking the crime had been remedied, rendering a guilty verdict moot,” prosecutors wrote.

“Holland engaged in a decade of deception receiving and spending benefits intended for her deceased mother,” said U.S. Attorney Bryan Stirling for the District of South Carolina in a press release. “We are committed to protecting our taxpayer-funded systems from fraud and abuse.”

“Cynthia Holland exploited her own mother’s death to steal from a program meant to support the most vulnerable,” said Michelle L. Anderson, Acting Inspector General for SSA. “As a former public official, her deception is especially troubling. We will continue to pursue those who abuse Social Security for personal gain.”

Holland faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. She also faces a fine of up to $250,000, restitution, and three years of supervision to follow the term of imprisonment.

Federal prosecutors on the case were Winston Holliday and Scott Matthews.

The case was investigated by agents from the Office of the Inspector General of the Social Security Administration.

This story was originally published August 6, 2025 at 9:20 AM.