Portsmouth Social Services, Helen Cockrell, David Ross

Because a study found a 6% wrongful-conviction rate in Virginia for the 15-year span before DNA testing was widely available, here are today's nominees for Worst Virginians in the World! (An all-money scandal edition, no less.)

The bronze goes to Portsmouth Social Services, in a follow-up from a Worst Virginians nominee in October. The department came under fire for spending $40,000 for pro football player Anthony Hargrove's visit for speeches and accomodations.

Commonwealth's Attorney Earle Mobley probed the matter with Police Chief Ed Hargis, and an audit was released Monday, The Virginian-Pilot of Hampton Roads reported. The audit concluded that there was no criminal wrongdoing but a lack of judgment, and city procedures weren't followed. "In a cash-strapped city, it makes you wonder why they would do this at this time, or at any other time, in my opinion," Mobley said.

The report found insufficient documentation to support needing such a high fee and a lack of any negotiations over the price tag. There was also no cap on expenses, as there normally would be. Worse yet, Social Services didn't get approval from the city's purchasing department for the deal.

The Social Services director, city manager, and staffer who arranged the visit wouldn't comment.

Ironically, Hagrove's management company previously said it never charged for appearances at charity events.

The silver goes to Helen Cockrell, the fired and former director of the Shenandoah Area Agency on Aging in Front Royal. In a follow-up from Worst Virginians in September (scandals are the gift that keep on giving!), The Northern Virginia Daily reported Friday that documents disclosed in an SAAA civil suit reveal that Cockrell is at the center of an embezzlement probe.

The SAAA board of directors believes Cockrell used up to $20,000 of its funds on personal expenses unrelated to agency business and is asking for it back, as well as $50,000 in punitive damages and fees. The Virginia Department for the Aging said in a report that more than $12,000 was involved in fraud, as well as $300,000 in SAAA's budget for maxed-out lines of credit. Cockrell and a colleague were also cited for gratuitously costly travel expenses.

Cockrell has filed a counter-suit, asking for $150,000 for breach of contract. Her annual salary was $100,000, or twice the state's per capita personal income. Surely she earned enough each paycheck so she wouldn't have to defraud a nonprofit tasked with aiding the elderly.

But the gold goes to David Ross, a 72-year-old Bristol man who has been sentenced to two years in prison for lying about his mother's death and cashing her Social Security checks – for 40 years. Ross defrauded the federal government and taxpayers of more than $318,000.

Ross's mother died in 1971 of cancer, but neither the family nor the funeral home told the Social Security Administration about her death, and her death certificate omitted her Social Security number, so the checks kept rolling in. The Bristol Herald-Courier reported Saturday that the SSA uncovered the problem in 2010 as part of its centenarian project, when Ross's mother would've turned 103 years old.

At his sentencing on Friday, a tearful Ross asked for leniency and admitted what he did was stupid. The judge was unimpressed and picked the high end of the sentencing guidelines.

Despite pleading guilty, Ross didn't help his cause. He lied twice to investigators in 2010 when the issue surfaced, and he briefly fled to Florida, where he lied to investigators about who he was when they found him.

To his credit, Ross told the judge that he wished he could pay back all the money. Upon his release, he can pay off the money if he works full time for minimum wage – for 22 years.

That's David "A crooked boy's best friend is his dead mother" Ross, today's Worst Virginian in the World!

Worst Virginians will return Tuesday, Jan. 17.