Man accused of stealing nearly $4M from elderly woman with dementia, spending it on high-end shopping and dining

Man accused of stealing nearly $4M from elderly woman with dementia, spending it on high-end shopping and dining Man accused of stealing nearly $4M from elderly woman with dementia, spending it on high-end shopping and dining

A Pennsylvania man is accused of stealing nearly $4 million from an elderly woman with senile dementia and spending the money on high-end shopping sprees, fancy restaurants, and plastic surgery.

James Batt, 66, of Flourtown, about 14 miles northwest of Philadelphia, was arrested on numerous felony counts related to the thefts, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said in a news release Wednesday.

According to the release, Batt is accused of stealing from 92-year-old Alice Lineman before and after her death in August 2019. The district attorney’s office said Batt was a friend of Lineman’s, was one of the largest beneficiaries of her estate, and had been named the executor and trustee of her estate.

“This defendant took advantage of an elderly woman suffering from senile dementia by stealing more than $3.7 million from her and from her estate, thereby draining the assets available to Ms. Lineman, her estate and her heirs,” Steele said in a statement.

“Through our prosecution of this egregious crime, we will hold Batt accountable for living extravagantly on money that should have gone to Ms. Lineman’s family,” he continued.

Officials allege that before Lineman’s death, Batt made $30,000 in personal expenditures on her American Express account, changed her mailing address for the account to his home residence, and added his partner as an authorized user.

An investigation also found that he allegedly withdrew hundreds of thousands of dollars from two other bank accounts.

Following her death, Batt allegedly wrote 139 checks between 2019 and 2022 payable to himself from Lineman’s bank accounts. The district attorney’s office said he took $592,400 from one account and just over $1.3 million from another, the news release states.

In total, Batt is accused of making unauthorized transactions totaling $3,715,318.

The district attorney’s office said Batt spent much of the money on hotels, fancy restaurants, movie tickets, extravagant travel, high-end shopping, and plastic surgery.

Law enforcement was alerted to the thefts after two of Lineman’s relatives and beneficiaries filed a lawsuit against Batt, saying that he was the executor of Lineman’s will but did not disperse any funds.

The news release states that he made one payment of $150,000 to a benefici, but he did not distribute any other money.

In 2023, a judge removed Batt as trustee of Lineman’s living trust and ordered him to turn over estate assets, but he allegedly refused, according to the district attorney’s office. The judge found him in contempt of court in 2023 and again on March 19, 2025, when an arrest warrant was issued.

Batt is being held at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility on $99,000 cash bail. The judge added a provision barring Batt from using any of Lineman’s money to pay his bail. He is due in court on May 6 for a prelimin hearing.