MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Memphis man is accused of stealing from an elderly woman who was found dead after being reported missing in early 2022.
Greg Tanner, 59, is charged with abuse of a corpse, identity theft, financial exploitation of an elderly or vulnerable person, and theft of property $60,000 to $250,000.
Tanner was out of jail on a $50,000 bond, but his bond was forfeited for not showing up for court in January. The Shelby County District Attorney General's Office said they learned Tanner did not show up in court in January due to a drug possession indictment in Mississippi. They said he was transferred back into Shelby County custody in March after pleading in the Mississippi case. His bond forfeiture was set aside in April, then jail records show he was rebooked in July 2024, and is currrently in jail without bond.
Investigators said Rebecca Seay was reported missing on Feb. 18, 2022. According to the police affidavit, the 83-year-old woman had dementia and had been released from hospital on Jan. 22, 2022, into the care of Tanner. The Department of Human Services then tried to do a welfare check, but were unable to locate her. The TBI reported at that time that investigators were told she was in a rehab facility, but MPD was unable to locate her at any in the area.
According to the police affidavit, Seay’s body was found buried under a flower bed behind a rental property in the 300 block of N. Montgomery near Cleveland and Poplar Avenue near the Crosstown area on March 3, 2022. The affidavit said she had been wrapped in a sheet and was next to a box of ashes labeled “High Point Funeral Home, David Seay.” The affidavit said Tanner had signed for that box of ashes on Sept. 16, 2020.
The day before Rebecca Seay’s body was found, investigators were told by a bank about suspicious activity on her bank account. According to the affidavit, they found between Jan. 7, 2021, and March 7, 2022, more than $24,000 in unauthorized charges were made to her account not related to her care. Investigators said in the affidavit the charges were made by Tanner for gambling sites. Investigators also said they found nearly $81,000 in checks with Rebecca Seay’s forged signature in two of Tanner’s bank accounts, again not related to her care.
Investigators said a total of $105,409.89 was taken from Seay’s accounts.
