Caregiver accused of hiding patient's death and stealing his home arrested on fraud charges

The caregiver accused of hiding the death of a Baltimore woman's father and taking control of his finances has been arrested on fraud charges. 

Sarah Smalls was arrested in South Carolina on several charges in connection with the alleged abuse of her patient. She appeared in court on Tuesday morning. The patient was the father of a Baltimore woman, Nora Rowland, who previously spoke to CBS News Baltimore about the case. 

Smalls faces charges including breach of trust with fraudulent intent, perjury and exploitation of a vulnerable adult, online court records showed. She is facing a total of $45,000 in bail fees. Rowland told CBS News Baltimore that more charges are pending. 

Smalls is currently incarcerated, according to the court records.  

Rowland said her father retired to South Carolina in 2013 and began using home care services in 2021 after suffering a traumatic brain injury. Her father had also been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.  

In 2024, Rowland's father hired a caregiver from Griswold Home Care Services. She said the caregiver, who has been identified as Smalls, allegedly abused her father and forced him to sign over the deed to his $300,000 home. Three months later, her father was dead, his house had been signed over, and his money was gone. 

Smalls is accused of withdrawing over $17,000 in cash and sending money to herself via Cash App on several occasions, according to court documents obtained by WJZ.

Rowland said at the time that she was planning to move her father to Baltimore to be with her, and her father was only using the caregiver service temporarily while she finalized plans. She said her father was an avid golfer and an "independent" person who only needed help with some extra tasks. 

"I keep wracking my brain like, how could I have prevented this? And I really can't imagine how I would have known," Rowland told CBS News Baltimore.

Rowland said that she and her father spoke often and after not talking to him on her birthday or Father's Day, she made the drive to South Carolina to check on him.  

When she arrived in South Carolina, she was told that her father had been dead for three days and that his home was no longer in his name. "It was such a surreal moment," Rowland said.