James Batt, 66, of Flourtown, Pennsylvania, has been charged with stealing more than $3.7 million from 92-year-old Alice Lineman, an elderly woman with dementia, before and after her death in August 2019. Batt, who was named executor and trustee of Lineman's estate and was one of its largest beneficiaries, is accused of exploiting his position to make unauthorized transactions for personal use. Authorities allege that Batt spent the stolen funds on high-end shopping, luxury hotels, restaurants, extravagant travel, and plastic surgery. Before Lineman’s death, Batt allegedly made $30,000 in personal expenditures on her American Express account, changed the account’s mailing address to his home, and added his partner as an authorized user. He also withdrew hundreds of thousands of dollars from her bank accounts. After Lineman’s death, Batt allegedly wrote 139 checks to himself from Lineman’s accounts, withdrawing $592,400 from one account and over $1.3 million from another. In total, unauthorized transactions amounted to $3,715,318. Lineman’s heirs reportedly received only a single payment of $150,000, despite being owed a larger share of the estate. A judge removed Batt as trustee of Lineman’s living trust in 2023 and ordered him to turn over the estate’s assets, but he allegedly refused. Batt was found in contempt of court in 2023 and again in March 2025, leading to his arrest. He is being held at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility on $99,000 cash bail, with a provision barring him from using Lineman’s money for bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 6. In a separate case, Tyra Brown, 27, of Benton, Arkansas, was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release for stealing over $300,000 from at least 10 elderly customers while working as a customer service representative at a New Hampshire credit union. Brown pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and used her position to access and transfer funds from elderly victims’ accounts using wires, electronic debits, and Zelle. Brown attempted to steal a total of $428,526.85 and was prosecuted following an FBI Boston investigation. The case was handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in New Hampshire and Arkansas.