ROCKINGHAM — Two more people have been charged in connection to a financial fraud case involving the bank account of a man who died in late 2023.
The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office made two more arrests on Wednesday, charging 56-year-old Joseph Harrison Potter and 38-year-old Tiffany Michelle Freeman with one felony count each of obtaining property by false pretenses and identity theft, as well as a misdemeanor count of possession or manufacture of fraudulent identification.
Potter is being held without bond in the Richmond County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court Aug. 7. Freeman was given a $15,000 secured bond, however, she did not appear in online jail records nor was her case listed in online court records the afternoon of July 23.
On Tuesday, the sheriff’s office arrested 36-year-old Mary Elizabeth Collins and 30-year-old Laura Gail Cox.
Investigators say the defendants were making fraudulent checks using the banking information of the late John Grant Sr., who passed away Dec. 19, 2023 at the age of 98.
Cox is accused of using a forged check to buy a car from a local dealership.
According to the sheriff’s office, the Financial Crimes Unit is continuing to work on the case.
"This case is the subject of an extensive investigation, with many more arrests expected to take place as the thorough investigation continues," Sheriff Mark Gulledge said in a statement.
Online court records show Potter has a pending drug case stemming from last December.
Potter was initially facing 12 charges, but records show four counts were dismissed on March 17 when he was indicted on the other eight: possession with intent to sell or deliver methamphetamine; maintaining a place for a controlled substance; possession with intent to sell or deliver a Schedule II controlled substance (fentanyl); possession with intent to sell or deliver a Schedule III controlled substance (suboxone); possession with intent to sell or deliver a Schedule IV controlled substance (alprazolam); possession with intent to sell or deliver a Schedule VI controlled substance (marijuana); possession of drug paraphernalia (digital scale); and possession of marijuana paraphernalia (grinder).
Due to a server error Wednesday afternoon, his next court date in that case was not known at the time of writing.
Freeman also has several pending charges from 2024: possession of a firearm by a felon; misdemeanor child abuse; and possession of drug paraphernalia. Records she also has pending traffic citations.
It appears Potter has no prior convictions, according to records with the N.C. Department of Adult Correction.
Freeman was first convicted in 2012 of possession of drug paraphernalia, followed by a 2015 felony conviction of delivering or selling a Schedule IV controlled substance. Her most recent conviction was in 2022 on misdemeanor charges of assault and breaking and entering.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Editor's Note: This article was updated to correct the subject's name. 7/23/2025 11:27 PM
