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Taylorsville grandmother accused of receiving stolen cars, shipping them overseas

ALEXANDER COUNTY, N.C. — Alexander County deputies arrested a 66-year-old woman who they said received stolen cars from across the country and then shipped them overseas.

Sandra Kelley is charged with 10 counts of felony receiving stolen goods and property.

An investigation found that Kelley had stolen vehicles delivered to her home in Taylorsville from out of state. The vehicles were purchased with a fraudulent credit card, along with furniture, motors and various electronics, according to deputies. Authorities said the value of the stolen items is approximately $57,000. The items were recovered.

Deputies believe that Kelley was not the mastermind behind the thefts, but instead, a willing participant who became involved with a man whom she met online but never met in person.

"They think they're falling in love with a person overseas and they'll do whatever that person ask them to do,” Alexander County Sheriff Chris Brown said.

She thought the two would get married, the sheriff said.

The mystery man purchased the stolen items across the U.S. using fraudulent credit cards and had them shipped to Kelley's farmhouse, authorities said.

Kelley was first arrested last summer on similar charges. When she got out of jail, continued to break the law, authorities said..

"(It's) unreal that people are involved in that and don't realize what they are getting involved in. They think they're in love," Detective Mark St. Claire said.

Kelley was arrested in September 2016 for similar crimes.

She was ordered held on a $100,000 bond.

Her neighbor, Susan Kerley, realized that something wasn't right. She kept seeing cars on the property, including a rollback with three vehicles last week.

"She's lived here for years and years and years,” Kerley said. “And she is a good woman. I guess when you get desperate, people do things they have to do."

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