Largo Man Lived High Life on Elderly Mom's Dime, Deputies Say

While a 95-year-old Clearwater woman was confined to an assisted living facility, her adult son was living large off proceeds from his mother’s trust fund.

Withdrawing nearly $30,000 a month from his mother’s accounts, Richard Alan Kess paid for such things as tattoos, airline tickets and nights at local strip clubs, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office wrote in an email.

An investigation into Richard Kess’ activities was kicked off in August 2013 and ended with his Thursday arrest, deputies say. Kess now faces exploitation of an elderly or disabled adult charges after family members tipped off authorities to Richard’s alleged activities.

Deputies say Richard’s mother, Nancy Wolf Kess, entered an assisted living facility in October 2011. The then 93-year-old woman relinquished herself as the sole trustee of her trust fund at the time, naming her son.

Alarm bells about how Nancy Kess’ money was being spent began to go off with family members a short time later. They noticed that Richard, despite being unemployed, was leading a rather extravagant lifestyle, the sheriff’s office wrote.

“When Richard was questioned by family members about his mother’s assets, Richard was unable to account for large sums of money, and he was uncooperative,” the email said.

That lack of cooperation prompted a call to the Economic Crimes Unit. Detectives there kicked off an investigation that would ultimately last more than two years.

“Detectives obtained records to document that Richard Kess was violating his position as trustee and was spending large amounts of money which was not for the benefit or care of Nancy Kess,” the email said. ”Detectives estimated that Nancy’s assets were being drained at an alarming pace of approximately $30,000 a month.”

All told, detectives estimate that Richard Kess spent a total of $483,682.54 of his mother’s money on himself between October 2011 and August 2013.

Nancy Kess passed away in May 2014. Shortly after her death, detectives also learned that changes had been made to her power of attorney documents.

Deputies brought Richard Kess into custody on Thursday. Pinellas County Jail records indicated the Largo man was being held in lieu of $50,000 bond on Friday.

Booking photo courtesy of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office