Political operative at center of NC elections scandal hospitalized before court date
McCrae Dowless, the Bladen County political operative at the center of an election fraud scandal, was hospitalized Wednesday just before he was scheduled to be sentenced on separate charges, media outlets reported.
Dowless’ attorney could not be reached for comment, and his current medical condition is unclear. The news of his hospitalization was first reported by WBTV. Charlotte’s WCNC and Raleigh station WRAL confirmed the report, quoting the attorney.
Dowless was to be sentenced in federal court Wednesday after pleading guilty to two charges related to disability fraud.
Those charges stem from a separate state investigation into election fraud, but were not directly related. Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman is leading the state investigation.
The election scandal rocked North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District and prompted the State Board of Elections to throw out the general election there in 2018 — the first time that’s happened in state history.
Election fraud allegations
Dowless had worked for Republican candidate Mark Harris of Charlotte, who declined to run in the new election after the original was overturned. (Harris was never charged for crimes relating to the alleged fraud.)
In 2019, Dowless was indicted on three felony charges of obstruction of justice, two charges of conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice and two charges of possession of absentee ballot. Those charges have not yet come to trial.
According to affidavits in that case, Dowless is accused of paying people to collect absentee ballots from voters, sometimes even filling out empty ballots for Republicans. The ballots were then sent off to make it look like the voters had mailed them, not Dowless and his associates.
Collecting absentee ballots from voters is illegal. Dowless faces charges stemming from alleged fraud in both the 2016 and 2018 general elections.
In addition to collecting absentee ballots, Dowless is accused of directing his associates to lie to investigators, according to the indictment.
The election fraud case is ongoing, and was not affected by Dowless pleading guilty to disability fraud.
Lying for disability payments
In April 2020, a federal grand jury charged Dowless with crimes related to Social Security fraud. He pleaded guilty to one count each of theft of government property and Social Security fraud in June and was scheduled to be sentenced on Wednesday, before his hospitalization. Two other charges were dismissed.
According to the indictment, Dowless received more than $14,000 from the Social Security Administration in 2017 and 2018 after he lied by saying he was not working at the time.
In fact, Dowless was working on the mid-term and general elections. He received $137,000 for his political work while simultaneously collecting disability benefits, according to the indictment.
The theft of government property charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Social Security fraud can carry a penalty of five years.
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina said the sentencing on those charges was rescheduled for Sept. 2.
This story was originally published August 25, 2021 at 5:17 PM with the headline "Political operative at center of NC elections scandal hospitalized before court date."
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