Sheriff: Man tried to swindle elderly neighbor out of money, home

IREDELL COUNTY, N.C. — A man has been charged after deputies said he tried to swindle his elderly neighbor out of money and their Iredell County home.

According to Sheriff Darren Campbell, someone reported last August that 50-year-old William Christopher Giles had kidnapped his elderly neighbor. When deputies went to investigate, they found out that the elderly victim had not been kidnapped, but had been taken to a financial institution to alter bank accounts.

Over the course of the lengthy investigation, Campbell said they discovered that Giles was using his position of trust as a neighbor to siphon money out of the victim’s financial account.

Investigators said he would then create new accounts and at one point attempted to purchase the victim’s home while “knowing of the victim’s compromised mental capacity and elderly status.”

Giles has been charged with felony exploitation of an older or disabled adult. He was taken into custody at the Iredell County Detention Center where he was processed and given a $50,000 secured bond.

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Cox Media Group