Over-tightened?

the existing holes didn't line up.

the prep for painting didn't include filling the existing holes with the proper filler.

Why are the old holes so large? Picture of the old hardware?

Easiest way to deal with this is replace the new hardware with hardware that uses backplates to cover the boo-boos.

Or replace the drawer fronts with new ones. It is very difficult to achieve an acceptable outcome with these circumstances, especially given the huge holes that needed filling.

Wow, those are sure large holes. I have never seen any hardware on cabinets that had holes that large. In any case, improper filling of holes, is my guess, but, its not a good idea to be pulling where something is patched anyway. Your best bet is to have all new drawer fronts made and doors too, if the same thing is happening, or do like ci_lantro said above, use backplates.

Thanks for the comments . We didn’t even realize that these were the old holes as they were covered up (we are the third owner of this house ). All we could see were screw holes , so we matched that up and had them installed . Then this occurred after install.

what did they look like prior? have no idea unless those holes weren't filled properly. did they happen on all of them?

you can get those patched or you can buy new drawer fronts.

If they used a flat dowel to fill the old holes this was the wrong choice . How big was the hole it usually is just a screw hole . This makes no sense to me can you show the inside of the door

The old handles likely had a large attachment point, which someone overtightened and cut into the wood. Ordinary filling of the wood depression works fine. Until the new drawer pulls are installed, and overtightened. That pulls on the entire fill, and you see the dimpling of the wood, where the old pulls were installed.

The correct solution to this is to buy all new drawer fronts and have those finished by your cabinet finisher.

If new drawer fronts are not do-able, the cabinetmaker may be able to add a half inch thick wood board to the back of the existing drawer front (essentially a new backer board). It would act as a stabilizer once new screw holes are drilled. The old filler pieces would be re-filled and painted over, then the new pulls' holes would be drilled through the new backer board. Longer screws and nice big washers would be used for a secure fit.