The CotoBuzz Journal, Community Journalism

October 2007 ISSUE

We do not make jokes, we simply watch the LA Times, the Orange County Register and CID/HOA board of directors and report the facts!

Man to be Arraigned for Stealing from Leisure World Woman to buy a Boat and a House

September 27, 2007

Douglas Scott Milne, 54, Westminster, is charged with one felony count of grand theft by embezzlement and one felony count of theft from an elder over 65.

Milne faces sentencing enhancements for property damage over $150,000, aggravated white collar crime over $100,000, and crime-bail-crime. A crime-bail-crime enhancement means that the defendant is accused of committing a crime while out on bail for another offense.

If convicted on all counts, Milne faces a maximum sentence of eight years and eight months in prison. He is being held on $1,000,000 and must prove the money is from a legitimate source before posting bail.

He is scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow, Friday, September 28, 2007 at 9:00 a.m. at the West Justice Center is Westminster.

According to the OCSD, between January 1, 2000 and February 22, 2007, Milne is accused of befriending an elderly woman, now 90-years-old, who was living in Seal Beach Leisure World. He is accused of grooming her to trust him and telling her she was like a mom to him. In 2002, the victim's niece, who was the prospective executor of the victim's will, died. Milne is accused of persuading the victim to put him in charge of her trust. He is accused of promising to invest the victim's money on her behalf, opening a joint account in both of their names, and having the victim transfer her life savings into the account. Milne is accused of draining the account and stealing approximately $300,000 from the victim, spending it on personal items such as a boat, jet skis, and a four bedroom house.

In 2000, Milne was prosecuted and convicted by the Orange County District Attorney's Office for committing a similar crime against another elderly woman, his first known victim. While the case was pending, Milne is accused of stealing more than $80,000 from the current victim to repay the first victim.

Milne was arrested last night by the Seal Beach Police Department