FROM STAFF REPORTS

A 50-year-old man was charged with exploiting an elderly neighbor for financial gain following an investigation by the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff Darren Campbell announced the arrest of William Christopher Giles, who lives off Farmview Lane in northern Iredell County, in a news release.

The ICSO began investigating on August 17, 2020, after receiving a report that Giles had kidnapped an elderly neighbor, according to the news release.

Responding deputies determined that the elderly victim was not kidnapped but had been taken to a financial institution to alter bank accounts, Campbell said.

The case was assigned to Detective Patrick Dixson of the ICSO Economic Crimes Unit. Financial records were gathered, interviews were conducted, medical records were collected, and civil court proceedings occurred.

Over the course of the lengthy investigation, Dixson concluded that Giles had used his position of trust as a neighbor to the elderly victim to siphon money out of the victim’s financial account, create new accounts, and attempt to purchase the victim’s home while knowing of the victim’s compromised mental capacity and elderly status, Campbell said.

Giles was charged with one count of Felony Exploitation of an Older or Disabled Adult and taken into custody at the Iredell County Detention Center, where he was given a $50,000 secured bond by Magistrate Imes.