A Redwood City man charged with tricking several local elderly residents into giving him money and then disappearing is now behind bars.
James Keeton was arrested at his residence in Redwood City late Monday morning on a felony warrant, charging him with 13 counts of felony theft by false pretenses and elder abuse – or, theft by fraud.
"After a lengthy, three-year investigation into the fraudulent actions of Keeton by the Redwood City Police Department, a felony warrant was issued for his arrest," Lt. Sean Hart said in a statement Monday.
Hart explained, Keeton had a consistent pattern of befriending his elderly victims and borrowing money from them under false pretenses.
"Keeton made no attempt to repay the victims and would cut off communication with them after obtaining their money," Hart said.
During the investigation, detectives were able to connect Keeton to multiple victims in several jurisdictions.
According to Redwood City Police, Keeton would meet his victims through religious institutions and social clubs. The investigation revealed Keeton used "premeditated and intentional fraud" to obtain "loans" from his elderly victims without any intention of repaying the loans.
Keeton was taken into custody through a coordinated investigation between the Redwood City Police Department, the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office, the Burlingame Police Department, and the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office.
Anyone with information regarding James Keeton or anyone who may have been victimized by him is encouraged to contact Detective Josh Chilton of the Redwood City Police Department at 650-780-7141.
What do you think the punishment for these types of crimes against the elderly should be? Tell us in the comments.
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