Woman accused of exploiting elderly couple

MOULTON - A Morgan County woman has been arrested after she was accused of stealing from an elderly couple in her care.

Serena Dotson, 40, of Trinity, has been charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance, five counts of illegal possession of a stolen debit card and four counts of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, said Moulton Police Chief Lyndon McWhorter.

"Basically, it comes down to the fact that she was taking advantage of the people's trust," McWhorter said.

He said Dotson, who was sitting with the Moulton couple, is accused of taking credit cards and checks from the couple and forging their names to make purchases.

Capt. Damon Morgan said Dotson became a suspect during the course of the investigation into a complaint by the couple that someone was using checks and credit cards without their permission.

"During the course of the investigation, it was determined that this individual had made purchases with a credit card in the victims' names in Morgan and Lawrence counties," Morgan said. "We were then notified by a local merchant that someone was at the business trying to make a purchase with a stolen credit card."

He said officer Bob Arndt went to the business and found the stolen credit card and took Dotson in to custody.

"She had checks with the victims' names forged on them," Morgan said. "While being questioned, Dotson was asked if she had any credit cards in the victims' names and she said she didn't. When she opened her purse to show the officer, however, he saw two credit cards hidden and he asked about them and they turned out to belong to the victims."

Barry Spears, a communication official with the Alabama Department of Human Resource's Adult Protective Services, said exploitation is a growing concern.

"Exploitation is the most common type of elder abuse, and we see more and more every day," Spears said. "It is a growing problem because the elderly are vulnerable and have a tendency to be more trusting. Most of the time the person who is taking advantage of the victim is someone the victim knows and has a lot of trust in."

McWhorter called it "sad" that people can't trust individuals they have hired to sit with them.

"It's really sad that someone in a position of trust like this did nothing but take advantage of these people," he said.

Dotson was released from the Lawrence County Jail on bail totaling $11,000.

Tom Smith can be reached at 740-5757 or tom.smith@TimesDaily.com.