CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — Nautica Dunning, the local mother previously arrested for abandoning her six children, now faces additional legal trouble with a new arrest on a felony charge of forgery of a financial instrument.
Court records show Dunning was booked on the new charge on Thursday.
She pleaded guilty to 2022 charges of abandonment in an incident in which she was accused of leaving her children, ranging in age from 5 months to 9 years old, alone in a Northwest Side mobile home for five days. She received a deferred sentence for those charges and three years of community supervision.
According to police reports from the 2022 arrest, the children were discovered in a severely neglected state. One child was found nearly unconscious, two were in soiled diapers, and the home was excessively hot with spoiled food in the refrigerator. The 9-year-old had been texting the children's mother about running out of baby formula for the 5-month-old.
According to the felony arrest warrant and affidavit, Dunning is now accused of fraudulently passing checks allegedly stolen from her elderly employer.
According to arrest warrant, Dunning worked for the victim as his house cleaner.
Allegations:
- On November 7, 2024, she allegedly passed a forged check #1191 for $2,800.00 at First Community Bank, payable to Nautica Dunning.
- On November 12, 2024, she allegedly passed another forged check #1193 for $2,900.00 at the same bank.
- Bank surveillance video and photos identified Dunning as the person cashing these checks.
- The victim did not authorize these checks, and said his signature was forged.
The offense is classified as a Third Degree Felony for Forgery - Financial Instrument with an Elderly Victim. A felony warrant was issued on March 14, 2025, with a bond set at $15,000.00.
