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Gates County sheriff says suspect arrested after staged trap for alleged elder scam
Summary
The Gates County Sheriff's Office presented a video and an on-site update showing the arrest of a woman accused of twice pressuring an elderly resident to withdraw large sums of money; sheriff says investigation continues and suspects may be part of a wider criminal enterprise.
The Gates County Sheriff's Office presented a video during the board's meeting and reported the arrest of a woman identified as Kelly Early in connection with an alleged scam that targeted an elderly Gates County resident.
Sheriff Ray Campbell told the Board that the victim, described as a woman in her 80s, received repeated calls and an email claiming a PayPal overpayment and was pressured to return funds. After about 17 calls the woman withdrew around $20,000 from a bank. Deputies set a trap and arrested a suspect who arrived at the residence in a 2025 black BMW, Campbell said.
Campbell said Early was initially held on a $1,000,000 cash bond and that a judge later added an additional $500,000 secured bond tied to a charge described as taking advantage of an elderly person for financial gain. "So she's looking at a million and a half, but she will not get out," Campbell said in his update at the meeting. He added investigators believe the suspect did not act alone and described the operation as professional.
The Sheriff's Office urged residents who are targeted by scams to report them immediately and said investigators had concealed officers around the residence to make the arrest. A local television reporter introduced the video shown to the commissioners and summarized the sheriff's account as part of the meeting's public updates.
No formal board action was taken on the matter at the meeting; the sheriff provided the update and answered commissioners' questions. Campbell repeated a direct warning to would-be scammers: "Don't come to Gates County because we will want you down." The Sheriff also encouraged victims not to be embarrassed and to report attempted scams promptly.
The sheriff said the investigation "took a monumental leap" and that prosecutors had filed multiple charges; he did not provide additional suspect names or other case details at the meeting.
Prosecutors and the courts will handle criminal charging and any public records requests about the investigation, Campbell said. The board did not vote on any law-enforcement budget or operational items tied to this update during the meeting.
