BLADENBORO — McCrae Dowless, the twice convicted felon hired by the campaigns of a Baptist preacher and a county sheriff, has a day in federal court to go with another in state court.

An indictment unsealed this week shows the 64-year-old faces federal charges of fraudulently receiving Social Security benefits while getting paid for political work in the 2018 election cycle. The indictment of four counts was handed up by a grand jury April 7; he is to appear in a Wilmington federal court May 11.

Dowless is accused of concealing more than $100,000 from the Social Security Administration, money he was paid to work for at least two candidates in the 2018 election. He received more than $14,000 in disability and supplemental benefits above what he was entitled, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Robert Higdon said.

The charges are two counts of Social Security fraud, a count of making a false statement, and a count of theft of government property. If convicted of theft, Dowless could face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The other charges each carry maximum penalties of five years and $250,000 fines.

Dowless has past history with fraud. His felony convictions were in 1995 for fraud and 1992 for perjury. He served six months in prison for trying to forge a dead man’s signature on a life insurance policy with a date days before his death.

The 2018 election brought unwanted national exposure to Bladen County when North Carolina’s 9th District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, a portion of which includes Bladen County, remained the only one unfilled as Congress convened in January 2019. The contest was held a second time, along with two races in Bladen County, after an investigation by the state Board of Elections showed irregularities that also led to Dowless and 10 others being charged with election crimes.

The latest indictment doesn’t name the candidates for whom he worked. But at least two from that election cycle are known.

The Rev. Mark Harris, a former pastor of First Baptist Church in Charlotte and a candidate for the 9th District seat, funneled about $115,000 to Dowless through campaign consulting firm Red Dome. It’s also known the state board, in its probe, subpoenaed the campaign for Bladen County Sheriff Jim McVicker. The Washington Post cited “a person familiar with the investigation” in reporting McVicker “hired Dowless to run his ­absentee-ballot program.”

In campaign finance records, McVicker’s campaign paid Dowless $8,800 in six payments between Sept. 28, 2017, and Sept. 21, 2018. All are marked “Get Out To Vote.” In all, the campaign paid $22,550 for such expenditures, with two of the three entities — Dowless and Red Dome Group — named as part of the state board’s investigation.

Neither McVicker, Harris or Red Dome Group were accused of wrongdoing by the state board, or cited for criminal charges. Harris had the most votes in a race with Dan McCready, then chose not to run in the redo won by former state Sen. Dan Bishop. McVicker won reelection by a margin greater than the last two sheriff’s races combined.

During the state board’s evidentiary hearing in February 2019, testimony revealed Dowless directed his workers to collect blank or incomplete ballots, forge signatures on them, and fill in votes for local candidates. Dowless was subsequently arrested Feb. 27. Others arrested later and facing charges included Caitlyn Croom, Tonia Marie Gordon, Matthew Monroe Mathis, Rebecca D. Thompson, Lisa Britt, Ginger Eason, Woody Hester, James Singletary, Jessica Dowless and Kelly Hendrix — all facing charges related to illegal activities with the 2018 election.

Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman, prosecuting the state case against Dowless, said a court date this month has been pushed back to June or July because of the coronavirus, and a trial isn’t expected before October or possibly January.

Dowless, over the years, has worked for both Democrats and Republicans. It’s not unusual for him to be seen with a cigarette in one hand and a cellphone in the other.

In the days before the 2018 primary, he was being seen by the FBI and the State Bureau of Investigation. Both agencies had him under surveillance, according to unsealed search warrants, as they probed his connection to activities associated with the 2016 election cycle. In January 2017, the state elections board had found out about his suspected ballot harvesting efforts.

No federal charges were filed.

Ironically enough, it was in that 2016 election cycle that Dowless filed a complaint of absentee-ballot fraud by an opponent. He was in an election race for a seat on the Bladen County Soil and Water Conservation Board. Two voters named him in similar complaints.

Dowless has been mentioned in questionable ballot operations going back to at least 2014.

McCrae Dowless
https://www.bladenjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/web1_McCrae-Dowless-2.jpgMcCrae Dowless

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Alan Wooten

Bladen Journal

Alan Wooten can be reached at 910-247-9132 or awooten@bladenjournal.com. Twitter: @alanwooten19.