Woman Tied to Matos & McKee Campaigns Charged With Falsifying Congressional Race Nomination Papers

Woman Tied to Matos & McKee Campaigns Charged With Falsifying Congressional Race Nomination Papers

The Rhode Island Attorney General's office announced on Friday that Holly McClaren has been charged in Providence County Superior Court with knowingly falsifying and submitting nomination papers.

The allegations of fraudulent nomination signatures were levied ten months ago during the 2023 First Congressional District Special Election.

On May 29, a statewide grand jury returned a secret indictment charging McClaren (age 52) with two counts of falsely certifying nomination papers and two counts of filing false documents with a public official. The indictment was sealed, and a warrant was issued for the defendant. On May 31, the defendant voluntarily appeared in Providence County Superior Court, where the Court unsealed the secret indictment, and she was arraigned. 

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McClaren, the paid staffer on Lt. Governor Sabina Matos’ congressional campaign was at the center of the signature controversy, also works for Luis Estrada — the Democratic political operative who worked for Governor Dan McKee’s campaign and has been tied to a number of other political campaigns. She also appeared in a McKee TV ad.

McClaren, on her social media account, lists Estrada Bookkeeping and Political Consulting as one of her employers.

According to the AG's office, as alleged, on days and dates between July 11, 2023, and July 13, 2023, [McClaren] knowingly falsified nomination papers, and caused those nomination papers to be submitted to the Jamestown and Newport Boards of Canvassers on behalf of then-candidate Matos.

McClaren is scheduled for a pre-trial conference on August 8, 2024.