Peninsula Man Pleads No Contest To Bilking $184K From Elderly, Double-Amputee Relative

SAN MATEO COUNTY, CA – A man accused of stealing $184,000 from his elderly brother-in-law while living with him in Belmont pleaded no contest to elder abuse and identity theft charges on Monday, prosecutors said this week.

Andrew Higgins, 70, was sentenced to more than two years in jail for the thefts from his 79-year-old brother-in-law, who let Higgins move into his home after he got divorced and lost his job, according to the San
Mateo County District Attorney's Office.

The victim, a double amputee, agreed to help Higgins out as long as he pitched in with grocery shopping and other tasks around the house.

But when the victim gave Higgins his banking information so he could help paying bills, Higgins took advantage of his brother-in-law's generosity, taking money for himself without permission, prosecutors said.

Eventually the victim's son was notified in the spring of 2015 by his father's care home that his father had been missing payments. The son checked his father's bank accounts and discovered that $184,000 was missing from 12 accounts, prosecutors said.

Higgins was charged with felony elder abuse, identity theft and felony theft charges and pleaded not guilty last December.

On Monday, he agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors to plead no contest to two of the charges in exchange for a sentence of no more than three years in prison.

Judge Elizabeth Lee then sentenced him to two years and seven months in jail followed by five months of supervised release. He has been in custody on $150,000 bail and already has nearly two years' credit for time served.

In addition to the prison sentence, Higgins was ordered to pay $158,256.89 in restitution to six financial institutions, prosecutors said.

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