Union County women accused of scamming 85-year-old man out of $25,000

UNION COUNTY, N.C. — Two women are behind bars, accused of exploiting seniors in Union County.

Deputies say the suspects tricked one man into letting them live with him, and stole his money and valuables.

The sheriff’s office says the victim in this case is 85-years-old. They say all of this started with less than a genuine conversation, that quickly turned into a crime.

“We went out for a regular trespassing call and whenever we got to the scene, we noticed things weren’t adding up,” said Lieutenant Matt Winfrey with the Union County Sheriff’s Office.

He says that call brought deputies to a home with a man they describe as elderly inside. He says they also found two women, Sylvia Marks and Brittany Nicholas, who now sit in jail.

“They had come to know this victim, per se, at a grocery store,” Lt. Winfrey said.

Winfrey says that took place at a local Food Lion.

He says Marks lied to the man saying her name was Anna, before trying to convince him she took care of him in the hospital, even though they did not know each other.

Deputies say she was eventually able to get that victim to let her move into his home, along with Nicholas who she falsely claimed was her daughter. While there, it is alleged that the pair managed to get the victim to buy them things or give them cash, totaling up at $25,000.

Deputies also say rings went missing while the women were in the house, and that Nicholas assaulted then man, leaving him with bruises on his arm.

Winfrey says this is a reminder to keep an eye on your loved ones.

“We need to make sure that we’re checking on them to make sure they’re not being scammed out of money,” he said.

While that investigation went on, deputies say they found out this was not the first time this has happened.

“They also linked another male that had been taken advantage of,” Winfrey said. “The same exact tactics, the same exact ploy was utilized on this male, and they had moved into his residence for a short period of time.”

Detectives say they are still trying to find out exactly how much money those women allegedly got from that man.

The second victim in this case is 90.

Marks and Nicholas were both given hefty bonds. Marks sits at just over $500,000 while Nicholas’ bond is $400,000.

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