A South Carolina caregiver has been arrested more than two years after a Maryland woman says she drove hundreds of miles to check on her father, learned he had died days earlier and discovered his house was now in the caregiver’s name.
Sarah Weaver Smalls, 58, was arrested Sept. 28 by Conway police on charges of exploitation of a vulnerable adult, breach of trust with fraudulent intent and perjury.
The arrest marks a major turn in a case that Nora Rowland has been trying to unravel since June 2024. Rowland says her father, Robert Rowland, had Parkinson’s disease and a traumatic brain injury and had been receiving help with daily activities before Smalls entered his life as a caregiver.
By the time Rowland reached her father’s home in Conway, South Carolina, she says he had been dead for three days. Inside, much of what she recognized was gone. Another family’s photographs were on the walls, and Smalls claimed the house as her own.
What initially looked like a bitter property dispute now has a criminal case attached to it.
The Arrest
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WMBF reported that arrest warrants identify Robert Rowland as the vulnerable adult in the case and accuse Smalls of exploiting him between March and July 2024.
Police allege Smalls improperly obtained power of attorney over Rowland, withdrew more than $17,000 in cash from his bank account and made multiple transfers to her Cash App.
The warrants also bring the house at the center of the dispute directly into the criminal allegations.
Police allege Smalls obtained the deed to Rowland’s Ackerrose Drive property on April 17, 2024, and that a member of her family notarized the transaction. A probate complaint reviewed by WMBF identifies the notary as Smalls’ sister.
The property had been transferred through a quitclaim deed for a stated consideration of $5.
According to WMBF’s review of the warrants, one law office declined to prepare the deed before another law office ultimately handled it.
Money And Paper
The allegations go beyond the house.
Police accuse Smalls of taking money from Rowland while acting in a position of trust. Earlier records reviewed during WMBF’s original investigation showed transfers from Rowland’s account to Smalls, including transactions recorded after his death.
The perjury case stems from a separate set of paperwork, according to the warrants.
Police allege Smalls submitted false information to the Housing Authority of Conway in May 2024, saying she had no real estate, assets or cash and did not expect to work during the following year.
That filing came after the April deed transfer police now cite in the case.
The Horry County Register of Deeds maintains the county’s recorded property documents. Registrar Marion Foxworth III previously explained to WMBF that his office determines whether a deed meets the requirements for recording, not whether the underlying transaction was fair or whether a signer understood what he or she was giving away.
Three Days Late
Rowland previously told CBS News Baltimore that her father retired to South Carolina in 2013.
He began receiving home-care services after suffering a traumatic brain injury and being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Smalls was referred through Griswold Care Pairing for Myrtle Beach in 2024.
Rowland was preparing to move her father to Maryland and had begun setting up an in-law suite for him. As communication with him became less frequent, she became worried.
When he did not contact her on her birthday or Father’s Day, she drove to South Carolina herself.
She learned Robert Rowland had died three days earlier.
Rowland says Smalls had also moved her father into a senior living facility without telling her. Records Rowland provided to CBS described him there as emaciated and hallucinating.
Rowland has publicly accused Smalls of mistreating her father and has questioned whether his medical condition left him capable of understanding the documents he signed.
Those allegations go further than the criminal charges currently filed against Smalls. The available charges accuse her of financial exploitation, breach of trust and perjury; they do not accuse her of causing Robert Rowland’s death.
A $45,000 Bond
Smalls received bond during a Sept. 29 hearing.
A judge set $5,000 cash or surety bond on the perjury charge and $20,000 each on the exploitation and breach-of-trust charges, for a total of $45,000.
The exploitation and breach-of-trust cases are expected to proceed to Horry County General Sessions Court.
Initial reports differed on Smalls’ custody status after the hearing. CBS reported that court records showed her still incarcerated Tuesday, while a later Inside Edition report said she had posted the $45,000 bail and returned to the disputed property.
Inside Edition asked Rowland how she felt after learning of the arrest.
“I’m very relieved,” Rowland said. “I’m very happy that like something is finally being done about her and what she did to my dad.”
Smalls could not be reached by Inside Edition for comment.
The Company’s Response
Griswold Care Pairing for Myrtle Beach has said Smalls was an independent caregiver on its registry and passed the required background check before she was referred to Robert Rowland.
The company told CBS that Smalls worked with him for only a brief period and that, according to its records, he was no longer receiving Griswold services when the power-of-attorney and property-transfer events occurred.
Griswold said it learned of the allegations only recently and began an internal review.
The company also said it does not condone abuse, exploitation or inappropriate financial relationships between caregivers and clients.
For Rowland, the arrest comes after more than two years of fighting over her father’s property and belongings.
The house itself remains part of a separate civil dispute. Rowland has said she continues to challenge the transfer while seeking the return of her father’s personal property, including his cellphone, artwork and family heirlooms.