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Sperryville woman charged with forging checks, embezzling elderly victim

by | Oct 29, 2025

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Sheriff’s Office alleges nearly $145K stolen

Following a three-month investigation by the Rappahannock County Sheriff’s Office, a Sperryville woman was charged with multiple felonies and misdemeanors related to an alleged financial exploitation of an elderly victim for whom she held power of attorney.

According to a criminal complaint filed by Det. Chris Garcia on Oct. 20, Patty Jenkins, 47, gained power of attorney over an unidentified victim in April 2022. Shortly thereafter, Jenkins opened a bank account in the victim’s name — with the victim’s initial approval — and then allegedly began using the funds without authorization on several occasions.

“Mrs. Jenkins became Power of Attorney for the victim in this case on April 22, 2022,” Sheriff Connie Compton wrote in a press release last Wednesday. “Mrs. Jenkins started using the victim’s funds from the account without prior approval from the victim on several occasions,” the sheriff wrote.

Jenkins wrote checks to herself, forged the victim’s signature and used the victim’s money for personal expenses, including two unauthorized charges for a beach house rental, court records said.

According to the complaint, the victim’s bank account balance dropped from approximately $145,000 to $3.18 during the period Jenkins managed the funds.

Jenkins was a tenant of the victim, and was evicted from the property, according to court records. 

Jenkins was charged with two counts of felony embezzlement, four counts of forgery and uttering, four counts of power of attorney financial exploitation and two counts of obtaining money under false pretenses. 

She was arrested Oct. 20 and later released on a $25,000 unsecured bond. According to court records, the investigation is continuing. She will appear in Rappahannock County District Court on Nov. 18.

Author

  • Ireland Hayes

    Ireland joined Foothills Forum as a full-time reporter in 2023 after graduating from the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication with a degree in journalism and minor in music. As a student, she gained valuable experience in reporter and editor positions at The Red & Black, an award-winning student newspaper, and contributed to Grady Newsource and the Athens Banner-Herald. She spent three years as an editorial assistant at Georgia Magazine, UGA’s quarterly alumni publication, and interned with The Bitter Southerner.
    Growing up in a small town in Southeast Georgia, Ireland developed a deep appreciation for rural communities and the unique stories they have to tell. She completed undergraduate research on news deserts, ghost papers and the ways rural communities in Georgia are being forced to adapt to a lack of local news. This research further sparked her interest in a career contributing to the preservation of local and rural news.
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By Ireland Hayes

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Ireland joined Foothills Forum as a full-time reporter in 2023 after graduating from the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication with a degree in journalism and minor in music. As a student, she gained valuable experience in reporter and editor positions at The Red & Black, an award-winning student newspaper, and contributed to Grady Newsource and the Athens Banner-Herald. She spent three years as an editorial assistant at Georgia Magazine, UGA’s quarterly alumni publication, and interned with The Bitter Southerner. Growing up in a small town in Southeast Georgia, Ireland developed a deep appreciation for rural communities and the unique stories they have to tell. She completed undergraduate research on news deserts, ghost papers and the ways rural communities in Georgia are being forced to adapt to a lack of local news. This research further sparked her interest in a career contributing to the preservation of local and rural news.