Caregiver accused of taking thousands from elderly Graniteville man

GRANITEVILLE, S.C. - A Graniteville woman is in jail accused of stealing thousands of dollars from an elderly man while being his caregiver.

"Shocked me, knocked me to my knees. I just couldn't believe it," said Jeffrey Anderson, the caregiver's son-in-law.

According to the Aiken County Sheriff's Office, Minnie Jeff took more than $100,000 from 79-year-old Elijah Earl, who's known as Bubba.

"I just can't see her doing this I just don't see her as this kind of person," said Anderson.

Investigators say it started about four years ago when Earl was found living in a shed with no running water.

At that point, Department of Social Services removed him from Jeff's custody.

But Jeff's son-in-law says the shed was not a problem and the elderly man had a good relationship with his caregiver.

"He couldn't walk around real good. She had a little shed home that she turned into a house that he moved into," said Anderson.

Anderson says when Earl was moved into a nursing home he would often ask to see Jeff.

"He loved her. Every time we went to see Bubba he asked about her," said Anderson.

Eventually Earl was returned to Jeff's care. That was the case until earlier this month when Jeff, who had power of attorney over Earl, was taken to court after Earl's brother accused her of spending $100,000 of Earl's money.

The sheriff's office says Jeff was put in jail for contempt of court when she was unable to prove how she spent Earl's money.

Earl is now in protective custody.

There were two women involved. Investigators tell 26 News after Jeff was put in jail, those women took Earl and his medication and would not turn him over to the sheriff's office.

They're charged with abuse and obstruction of the investigation.

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