Source: Office of United States Attorneys
COLUMBIA, S.C. —Cody Lee Anderson, 37, of Aiken, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud in connection with the signing of a will of an 88-year-old woman who passed away in 2022.
Evidence presented in court showed that sometime during the pandemic, a will was executed by a woman in Aiken that purported to leave the entirety of her estate, which was worth approximately $20 million to co-conspirator Thomas Allen Bateman, Jr. Anderson was designated as the personal representative and stood to be paid a fee of 5%. Evidence developed during the investigation indicated the 88-year-old woman did not have the mental capacity to make an informed decision regarding the disposition of her assets.
Anderson faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison. He also faces a fine of up to $1,000,000, and a total of five years of supervision to follow the term of imprisonment. Senior United States District Judge Joseph F. Anderson, Jr. accepted the guilty plea and will sentence Anderson at a future date after receiving and reviewing a sentencing report prepared by the U.S. Probation Office. Anderson’s co-conspirator, Bateman, previously plead guilty on Aug. 13, 2024, and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 3.
This case was investigated by the FBI Columbia Field Office and the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office Vulnerable Adults and Medicaid Provider Fraud unit (VAMPF). Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott Matthews and Winston Holliday are prosecuting the case.
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