Woman charged with stealing Social Security benefits of woman found buried in Philadelphia basement
FOX 29 cameras were at the scene back in 2022 when crews discovered the body of a woman encased in cement in the basement of a Philadelphia home.
PHILADELPHIA - A Philadelphia woman is facing federal charges after she was accused of stealing social security benefits from a woman authorities say was murdered and found buried beneath several feet of concrete in a basement in 2022.
Holly Sadowski, 37, has been arrested and charged with Social Security fraud, wire fraud, identity theft, and related offenses.
U.S. Attorney Jacqueline Romero announced the charges Friday, alleging that Sadowski concealed the woman’s death to steal her Social Security benefits totaling just shy of $100,000.
Authorities say the victim’s remains were found buried beneath six to eight feet of concrete in the basement of a home on the 5200 block of Burton Street in Philadelphia where she had lived. The victim was last seen alive on or about Dec. 12, 2012 and had received Disability Insurance Benefits due to an intellectual disorder.
Following the gruesome discovery, investigators used DNA analysis to confirm the remains recovered were those of the victim. Further investigation determined that the victim’s cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head and neck area and the manner of death was homicide.
A forensic anthropologist estimated that the victim died between four and ten years prior to her remains being recovered.
Sadowski is accused of accessing the woman’s bank account and stealing her Social Security benefits for her own use. She is also accused of using the victim’s name, date of birth and Social Security number to continue accessing her account that contained the Social Security benefits.
If convicted, Sadowski faces a maximum possible sentence of 107 years imprisonment.