Waterloo woman charged with using dead relative's Social Security payments

WATERLOO — A Waterloo woman has been charged with allegedly collecting a relative's disability and retirement payments for years after the relative passed away.

A federal grand jury returned an indictment April 22 charging Candice Jo Davis with five counts of wire fraud and one count of identity theft.

Arraignment is scheduled for next week in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids.

According to court records, an elderly relative of Davis was collecting monthly disability insurance benefits from the Social Security Administration beginning in March 2018. The funds were deposited in a Texas bank, and the family member used a card to use the money.

The relative died about a month later, in April 2019. But the Social Security Administration wasn't aware of her death and continued to send the monthly payments, eventually switching to retirement insurance benefits in 2023.

Court records allege Davis began using the family member's card in May 2019 and continued for several years, making electronic purchases and withdrawing money at ATMS.

When the card expired in 2023, Davis allegedly phoned the bank to request a new card while pretending to be the relative, records state. She also asked to change the mailing address on the account to her own home under the pretense that the relative was living with her, records state.

The charges pertain to five times in 2025 when Davis allegedly withdrew $200 from a Waterloo ATM using the card.

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