Simi Valley Man Accused of Draining $100K From 89-Year-Old Thousand Oaks Man

A 26-year-old Simi Valley man is facing felony charges after prosecutors say he befriended an 89-year-old Thousand Oaks man, wormed his way into his home and bank account, and siphoned off nearly $100,000 over more than a year. William Bao Khoa Ly pleaded not guilty to all charges at his arraignment on August 18, and he remains free on $50,000 bail while the case moves through Ventura County court.

According to a FOX 11 report on prosecutors' account of the case, Ly first met the victim at a Thousand Oaks McDonald's in June 2024. He allegedly offered to help the older man with his electronic devices, claiming to be tech-savvy, and soon began stopping by the man's home two to three times a week. Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced the charges, saying Ly stole nearly $100,000 from the man, per the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

How the Alleged Scheme Unfolded

Prosecutors say those repeated visits gave Ly the access he needed. Between June 2024 and August 2025, he allegedly obtained the victim's cell phone PIN during his visits and used it to carry out roughly 91 separate transactions, moving money out of the man's bank account and into cryptocurrency accounts he owned or controlled, the station's report states. The scheme unfolded over more than a year before it was caught.

The victim's bank ultimately recovered more than $50,000 of the stolen funds after detecting the fraudulent activity, per the same account. That leaves roughly half of the alleged theft still unaccounted for as the case proceeds. Ly is charged with grand theft, felony theft from an elder or dependent adult, and unauthorized use of personal identifying information, according to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

Prosecutors Cite Aggravating Factors

The charges against Ly include allegations that he took advantage of a position of trust, that the victim was particularly vulnerable, and that the crimes showed planning, sophistication, and professionalism, per the Ventura County District Attorney's Office. Those aggravating factors are enumerated under California Rule of Court 4.421, which prosecutors can use to seek upper-term prison sentences under Penal Code Section 1170(b), as edhat reported in a similar Ventura County prosecution.

Under California Penal Code Section 368, financial theft or exploitation from an elder aged 65 or older can be charged as a felony carrying up to four years in state prison and fines up to $10,000, according to the Shouse Law Group. The identity theft charge, under Penal Code Section 530.5, is a wobbler offense that can carry up to three years in county jail and a $10,000 fine when prosecuted as a felony.

DA's Office Urges Families to Guard Access

In a statement released alongside the charges, Chief Investigator Scott Whitney of the Ventura County District Attorney's Office urged the public, especially families of vulnerable adults, to stay cautious about who is allowed access to personal phones, PINs, passwords, and bank accounts. The warning echoes a broader pattern investigators say they are seeing: trust built through casual, in-person encounters that later gives scammers a foothold into an older adult's finances and devices.

The case fits into a grim statewide trend. California seniors lost $1.4 billion to financial fraud in 2025, a 68% increase over 2024 that ranked the state highest in the nation for elder fraud losses, according to the California Elder Fraud 2025 Report cited in Hoodline's prior reporting on a fiduciary accused of stealing millions from seniors. Nationally, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center found adults 60 and older lost $7.7 billion across more than 201,000 complaints in 2025, a 59% jump from the year before, as analyzed by TechEase.

Not the First Local Elder Fraud Case

Thousand Oaks has seen this kind of case before. In January 2024, police there arrested a Calabasas man on $200,000 bail for felony elder theft after an 81-year-old local resident was swindled out of cash in a phone scam, Hoodline previously reported. It's unclear whether additional victims may come forward given the extended duration and systematic nature of the scheme alleged against Ly, and the roughly $50,000 in funds that were never recovered remains an open question as the case heads toward its next court date.