Colombian woman charged with illegally voting in 2024 election stealing $400,000 in taxpayer funded benefits

A Colombian woman living illegally in the United States lived under a stolen identity for more than two decades, improperly received more than $400,000 in stolen federal benefits, and illegally voted in the 2024 presidential election, federal prosecutors said Thursday. 

Lina Maria Orovio-Hernandez, 59, also obtained welfare benefits, a REAL ID and eight other state ID's, the Justice Department said. 

Orovio-Hernandez allegedly used the stolen identity to submit a fraudulent voter registration in January 2023, and cast a ballot in last year’s presidential election, prosecutors said. She was captured on surveillance camera at a bank wearing an "I voted" sticker on Nov. 5, 2024, Election Day, according to court documents. 

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She is charged with false representation of a Social Security number; making a false statement in an application for a United States passport; aggravated identity theft; receiving stolen government money or property; fraudulent voter registration; and fraudulent voting. Orovio-Hernandez has been held in federal custody since February, when she was charged with identity theft and other offenses. 

Authorities said Orovio-Hernandez improperly received $400,000 in federal benefits: $259,589 in Section 8 rental assistance benefits from October 2011 through January 2025; $101,257 in Social Security disability benefits from July 2014 through January; and $43,348 in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits or SNAP, from April 2005 through January.

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"For more than 20 years, this defendant is alleged to have built an entire life on the foundation of a stolen identity – including illegally voting in our presidential election and collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars in government benefits intended for Americans in need," said U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley. "The right to vote is one of the many privileges of being a U.S. citizen. Government funded programs for those in need are intended to be safety nets for those living in our country lawfully – not support an illegal alien without a right to be here."

She also applied for a U.S. passport, claiming to be a U.S. citizen who was born in Puerto Rico, authorities said. 

Orovio-Hernandez wasn't entitled to any of the benefits she received, said Foley, citing her illegal presence in the U.S. 

"Stealing someone’s identity to unlawfully obtain Social Security benefits is not just theft—it’s a long-term abuse of a system meant to support those truly in need," said Amy Connelly, the special agent in charge for the Social Security Administration (SSA), Office of the Inspector General in the Boston-New York field division.