Twenty-eight counts of obtaining property by false pretense have been lodged against two Rocky Mount area women who allegedly posed as nurses seeking money for elderly patients.

Ginger Barnes and Christine Ezell also face five counts of attempted obtaining property by false pretense and two counts of felony conspiracy, Major Tommy Hathaway of the Roanoke Rapids Police Department said this morning.

Charles Ezell III, the husband of Mrs. Ezell, faces two counts of felony conspiracy for allegedly driving the women for two days in Roanoke Rapids.

Investigators learned Mrs. Ezell also had an outstanding warrant for possession with intent to sell and deliver heroin in Nash County and communicating threats from Edgecombe County while her husband had an outstanding order for arrest for driving while license revoked from Nash County.

The trio, Hathaway said, are allegedly responsible for committing the scam in Nash, Pitt, Wake and Edgecombe counties as well as Roanoke Rapids.

The scam was allegedly committed to feed a drug habit, Hathaway said.

The women, who claimed they were nurses from a nursing facility out of Tarboro, solicited businesses saying they were trying to collect money for elderly patients who couldn’t afford health care. “They were nickeling and diming people, collecting $10, $20, $50,” Hathaway said.

The police department is encouraging anyone who might have been victim to the scam to call during office hours at 252-533-2810. “Everyone said the girls were very believable,” Hathaway said.

The trio was caught Wednesday after Roanoke Rapids officer A. Salmon of C Squad saw the women coming out of a local business. Officers of C Squad had a vehicle description and suspect description, Hathaway said.

Barnes received a $100,000 bond while Mr. Ezell received a $17,500 bond. Mrs. Ezell received a $177,500 bond.

It is unclear how long the trio was allegedly committing the scam, Hathaway said; although receipts recovered indicate it was a recent endeavor.