Picayune Woman and Her Son Arrested After Stealing from Elderly Family Member

The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office has arrested a mother and son after they stole more than $90,000 from an elderly family member.

In February, a woman contacted the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office to report she suspected an elderly family member was being financially exploited by another family member.

Through their investigation, detectives with the STPSO Financial Crimes Unit discovered that between July 2021 and February 2022, Deborah Ann Sollberger age 66, of Picayune, Miss., had spent $91,428.98 of her 88-year-old aunt’s money and had donated her aunt’s vehicle, which was valued at $3,200, to a friend.

On March 18, a warrant was issued for Sollberger’s arrest for Exploitation of a Person with Infirmities, Money Laundering and Obstruction of Justice. S he was located on March 20 in New Orleans and arrested. She was moved to the St. Tammany Parish Correctional Center and was released on March 22nd on $15,000 bond.

Further investigation revealed Sollberger’s son, Kevin Lee Dunbar, age 40, of Lacombe, had signed onto an account with his mother. That account was opened using funds illegally obtained from the elderly aunt. Additional checks were also paid to Dunbar by Sollberger using money from the elderly aunt’s account. Of the $91,428.98 spent, $40,860 ultimately went to Dunbar.

On March 24, a warrant was issued for the arrest of Dunbar for Principal to Exploitation to a Person with Infirmities, and Money Laundering. He was arrested and was also booked into the St. Tammany Parish Correctional Center. He was released on March 25 on a $10,000 bond.

“I applaud the hard work of our detectives in our Financial Crimes Division, who work difficult cases like this to seek justice for some of our most vulnerable residents – our elderly,” Sheriff Randy Smith said. “It is absolutely appalling that someone would take advantage of an elderly family member for their own personal gain.”