Rapid City Woman Sentenced to Federal Prison for Theft of Government Property and Fraud

From the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of South Dakota:

Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Rapid City, South Dakota, woman convicted of Theft of Government Property and Supplemental Security Income Benefits Fraud was sentenced on October 19, 2021, by U.S. District Judge Linda R. Reade.

Holli Lundahl, a/k/a Holli Telford, age 65, was convicted by a jury of both charges and was sentenced to a total of 18 months in federal prison. Lundahl was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay a total of $200 in special assessments to the Federal Crime Victims Fund and $70,110 in restitution. Lundahl must serve her sentence consecutive to a federal sentence of three years in custody she received for fraudulent behavior in Wyoming.

Evidence at trial established Lundahl knowingly stole and converted to her own use Social Security Administration Title XVI Social Security Supplemental Income payments between 2011 and 2019. The evidence showed Lundahl received and kept the payments, even though she was not entitled to them, because she owned property and had resources far in excess of the limits permissible for Title XVI beneficiaries. In order to continue to receive the benefits, Lundahl falsely reported, concealed, and failed to disclose to the Social Security Administration extensive property, resources, and assets she held or possessed.

This case was investigated by the Office of the Inspector General – Social Security Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Kelderman prosecuted and tried the case.

Lundahl was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.