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Hiwassee Dam – An Andrews woman who was taking care of an elderly resident is accused of scamming her patient out of more than $500 over the course of a month.
Tiffany Dawn Wooten, additionally known as Tiffany Dawn Brooks, is also accused of stealing a necklace from the patient and selling it to a local pawn shop.
“The family members are the ones who discovered it and filed a report,” Cherokee County sheriff’s Lt. Tiffany Holland said.
Officials say Wooten was employed as an in-home certified nursing assistant while caring for a woman in her 90s who lives in Hiwassee Dam. The patient often wrote checks for Wooten to pay for medicine, but after returning from the pharmacy, Wooten would tell the woman she had to pay for the items out of pocket.
Officials say the patient has dementia and often forgot that she had previously given Wooten money. On at least one occasion, Wooten told the patient she needed money to buy cleaning supplies, but never bought the items, according to police. On a separate occasion, Wooten allegedly told the woman she needed money to buy food at a local grocery store, but that wasn’t part of her duties as a CNA.
“She had family members that were taking care of all of [the food],” Holland said.
The elderly woman also wrote Wooten a check that said “Merry Christmas” on it, as if it was a holiday bonus. However, “The family says they didn’t give her anything [as a bonus],” Holland said.
Additionally, court documents say Wooten stole a necklace from the patient and sold it to Trader’s Corner in Murphy for $160.
Wooten, 27, of Andrews, is charged with exploitation of a disabled or elderly person, a felony offense. She is also charged with two counts of felony obtaining property under false pretense.
In an interview with the Cherokee Scout last month, Cherokee County Department of Social Services officials said they have seen an increase in the number of adults being neglected