Man Charged with Fleecing Elderly OC Neighbors of over 100K

A 65-year-old man pleaded not guilty Friday to stealing about $110,000 from his elderly neighbors in Dana Point.

Daniel Alexander Mackenzie was charged Tuesday with 20 felony counts of grand theft, grand theft by embezzlement, money laundering, theft from an elder adult, and making an untrue statement or omission in connection with a purchase or sale with sentencing enhancements for aggravated white collar crime between $100,000 to $500,000.

In court papers, investigators said Mackenzie “befriended his elderly neighbors and lulled them into a sense of security before defrauding them of a combined total of $110,000. Over the course of several months, he gained their trust by presenting them with fraudulent business documents and promises of a safe investment.”

Investigators alleged he did not invest the money and then offered up phony business statements and “made false promises of incoming profits.”

For about three years he “made excuses as to why their money was not available and continued to extend the date they could expect to see a reimbursement,” investigators alleged.