Financial planner who stole from elderly takes plea deal

Having pleaded no contest to multiple elder abuse and residential burglary charges Thursday, Ng faces a lengthy prison term when he returns for receipt of a probation report and sentencing March 26, according to prosecutors.

Ng is said to have stolen some $218,000 from a Burlingame couple in their 60s by telling them he could take a portion of their retirement fund and invest it in a Northwestern Mutual account in 2006. He allegedly met regularly with the couple to discuss their investment strategy and, in 2015, told them the fund had reached optimal growth and that he would invest it in another account, according to prosecutors.

The couple is said to have received a letter from the IRS in 2017 requesting more information about their investments, prompting them to learn the money had been transferred to Ng and not into another account as he had allegedly promised them. Having told the couple his wife was suffering from a heart condition, Ng previously received loans from them, according to prosecutors.

Another 65-year-old woman was investing some $266,000 with Ng when he stopped returning her calls, and another elderly couple gave Ng nearly $2,100 to purchase an insurance policy they never received, according to prosecutors.

Ng’s defense attorney John Runfola said his client was forced to accept the deal since prosecutors had the evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

“It’s an unduly harsh sentence for him,” said Runfola. “[He] led a law-abiding life for 56 years, but succumbed to an addiction to gambling.”

Chief Deputy District Attorney Al Serrato said prosecutors were pleased to see a resolution to the case and a sentence reflecting the seriousness of Ng’s conduct.

“It’s always reprehensible to target vulnerable elderly victims and take what may amount to their life savings,” he said.