Carroll O’Connor Widow Scam Viewed as Elderly Abuse

• Two-Year Probe of Malibu and Other Billings Leads to an Arrest

BY ANNE SOBLE

Growing national concern about elder abuse struck close to home with the arrest last week of a Carpenteria man suspected of bilking longtime Malibuite Nancy O’Connor, the 79-year-old widow of actor Carroll O’Connor, out of approximately $100,000 in bogus home improvement bills for family residences in Malibu and Westwood.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s detectives issued an announcement stating that Kevin Duggan, 40, who does not possess a state contractor’s license, allegedly scammed O’Connor by altering invoices for materials, double billing for services, purchasing personal items, and submitting bills from other clients.
The case began in 2007, when O’Connor’s daughter-in-law Angela began reviewing her husband’s mother’s finances after dementia set in.
Detectives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Major Fraud Detail and investigators from the Contractor’s State License Board culminated a two-year investigation when they served search and arrest warrants at Duggan’s Carpenteria home.
Duggan was arrested on suspicion of Financial Abuse of an Elder 368(d) PC and Grand Theft 487(a) PC. He is being held in lieu of $70,000 bail.