DANVILLE, Va. — A former “Survivor” contestant has been charged in Virginia with grand larceny, authorities said.

Jonny Fairplay, who while competing on the show in 2003 became known for orchestrating a lie that his grandmother had died, was charged after a silver necklace and furniture were taken from a residence, the Pittsylvania County Sheriff’s Office said. Also charged was Fairplay’s mother, Patsy Terry Hall, 68, the Danville Register & Bee reported Wednesday.

The sheriff’s office said Fairplay’s aunt filed the complaint, according to TV station WSET. Sheriff’s office officials would not say who lived at the home, according to the Register & Bee.

Fairplay, 46, and Hall turned themselves in at a magistrate’s office Friday after Danville police served them warrants, a police spokesman told the newspaper.

“I (we) have been unjustly charged by a family member. I welcome the opportunity to vindicate myself (and my mother),” Fairplay wrote in a message to The Associated Press on Wednesday evening.