Newberry woman arrested for collecting $16k from co-workers after falsely saying her daughter and grandson were killed in a car crash

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Theresa Ann Surratt, 43, of Newberry, was arrested yesterday for collecting $16,000 from her co-workers after falsely telling them her daughter and grandson had been killed in a car crash.

An Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy investigated a complaint from one of the victims and determined that in the fall of 2024, Surratt told her co-workers at Park Meadows Health & Rehabilitation that her daughter and grandson had been killed in a car crash in Ohio and she needed money to help with her travel, the funeral, and financial support as she dealt with this tragedy.

The deputy reported that “numerous” co-workers received text messages from Surratt, telling them about the accident and sharing pictures of her daughter, grandson, and the crash. Between November 28, 2004, and January 3, 2025, the victims reportedly sent Surratt over $16,000.

However, one of the co-workers looked up Surratt’s daughter and found an obituary, but the co-worker also found the daughter’s social media account, where the daughter was still posting pictures of herself and her son. The co-worker contacted the daughter and learned that Surratt had lied about the crash.

The deputy contacted the daughter, who confirmed that there had been no fatal crash; the detective also discovered that the photos were from a different crash in 2023 in Utah. Business records from the obituary website reportedly showed that Surratt had submitted the obituary.

Surratt has been charged with engaging in a scheme to defraud victims of less than $20,000 and unlawful use of a two-way communications device. Surratt has no local criminal history, and Judge Robert Groeb set bail at $25,000 in the arrest warrant.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.