Women charged in elder abuse
Three Graniteville women have been jailed on allegations they were involved in a scam that bilked an elderly man out of more than $150,000 he received from Norfolk Southern after the 2005 train derailment, officials said.
Minni Lee Jeff, of Mt. Arthur Drive, 70, faces the most serious allegations of abuse.
She is charged with two counts of exploitation of a vulnerable adult. She is also accused of forcing the 78-year-old victim, Elija Earl, to live in a shed in her back yard without plumbing. Earl is now in protective custody, and all three women have been charged.
Investigators said Jeff abused her power of attorney and her role as a caregiver, spent most of the $160,000 Earl received from Norfolk Southern and then transferred what little she had not spent to her own account.
Jeff's sister, Maudeine Mayer, 64, of Pine Street, has also been implicated for her alleged involvement.
She is charged with obstruction.
Mayer's daughter, who is also Jeff's niece, has also been arrested.
Angela Townsend, 37, of Mt. Arthur Drive is also charged with obstruction.
The investigation unfolded in late April when the a circuit court judge and the Department of Social Services (DSS) learned of the exploitation allegations. Deputies soon found the abuse dated back several years, said Capt. Troy Elwell, a spokesperson for the Aiken County Sheriff's Office.
Earl had been living in the Graniteville area in Jan. 2005 when a Norfolk Southern train derailed in downtown and spilled deadly amounts of chlorine and killed nine people. By October of that year, the elderly Earl was living under Jeff's care, Elwell said.
"At that time DSS found he was living in a shed without plumbing in the backyard," the captain said. "He was under her care."
He voluntarily moved into an elder care facility that year until 2007 when returned to Jeff's care.
How that happened, Elwell said, is still part of the investigation.
Investigators believe that in 2007 the elderly man received $160,000 settlement from Norfolk Southern.
"Since that time Jeff has managed to spend more than $100,00 of that," Elwell said.
Very little of the money went for Earl's care, he added.
In March, Jeff was accused of withdrawing the remainder of Earl's money from his account and depositing it in her own, according to arrest warrants.
Investigators did not have a full accounting of what she spent the money on, saying that it was still part of the ongoing investigation and that Jeff has not been forthcoming with that information.
Earlier this month, a judge ordered Jeff to serve jail time for contempt of court for not giving officials an accounting of her finances, and deputies went to Earl's home to take him into protective custody.
Once there, they learned he was not at home.
"Mayer and Townsend had taken Earl and his medication and left," he said.
The women claimed they had taken him for ice cream, Elwell added, but the deputies who called Townsend said she told them she would bring him back, but they did not.
"Then, they agreed to bring him to the sheriff's office, but they did not," Elwell said.
The women would not answer phone calls after that, he added.
The women eventually met with investigators and were taken into police custody.
Earl was placed into emergency protective custody at that time, the captain said.
The case, is active, and there may be more victims.
Jeff has been sentenced to serve six months for failing to report to Judge Jack Early her expenditures and is currently being held at the Aiken County detention center on that charge.
Both Mayer and Townsend were booked at the detention center and released on bond.
Contact Karen Daily at kdaily@aikenstandard.com.