A Faison-areea resident is behind bars this morning, facing over 40 forgery offenses, all involving charges that she took financial advantage of an elderly Sampson County woman last year.

Dawn Nicole Batts, 43, whose last known address is listed as 523 Marsh Kornegay Road, Faison, is being held under a $50,000 secured bond for 45 financial offenses, including forgery of instrument, forgery of endorsement and identity theft.

According to Sampson County Sheriff’s Capt. Marcus Smith, Batts had been hired as a caregiver for the elderly Sampson woman and, while in that position, had reportedly created a “fictitious” power of attorney over the victim.

In February 2024, Smith said, family members of the elderly woman came into the Sheriff’s Office to report their suspicions of identity theft and forgery by the caregiver.

Batts, after reportedly creating the power of attorney, is alleged to have used several credit cards to purchase items that were not for the victim.

Although Smith did not have the exact value of the transactions made, he did note that they were “substantial.”

The sheriff’s captain said investigators obtained warrants against Batts, but discovered she was no longer living in North Carolina and could not be located.

“Therefore, she was entered into a national database for wanted persons to alert other law enforcement officers of the outstanding warrants should they come in contact with the suspect,” Smith noted.

On March 12, officers with the Berkley County Sheriff’s Department in South Carolina contacted Sampson officers, notifying them they had taken Batts into custody on those outstanding warrants.

“On March 28, the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections Extradition task force transported the suspect back to Sampson County and turned her over to officers,” Smith said.

While the captain said this type of caregiver incident was not typical, he did urge family members to be cautious when placing someone in the home to help look after an aging family member.

“I wouldn’t say this happens a lot, but it does happen,” Smith attested.

“Family members entrust these people to care for their loved ones, which is fine, but they need to keep tabs on what’s going on; they don’t need to be so trusting that you leave things unchecked.”

Smith said family members need to know what is going on, and he urged them to look for what he called “red flag warnings,” when caregivers were in and out of the home.

“That’s especially true when it comes to finances. It could be as simple as having a credit report on their family member from time to time. You can tell, that way, if their identity has been stolen or there is something unauthorized going on.

“It’s important to be aware. We don’t see this a lot, but again, it does happen, sadly,” Smith said.