A former restaurant owner in Lake Sammamish was sentenced to 30 months in prison for defrauding an elderly widow with dementia, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Washington
62-year-old Richard Dale Radcliffe befriended the women who had lived near his restaurant after he learned she was wealthy, a press release said.
The woman had no surviving family members and Radcliffe arranged to be included in her will, gained access to her bank accounts, and managed for a friend to have power of attorney over the victim, according to prosecutors.
“This defendant ingratiated himself into the life of an elderly widow, encouraging her to make him and his family beneficiaries in her will,” said U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd said. “But he did not wait for her death to start taking her money – he raided her accounts to pay for his own luxuries. His callous conduct is deserving of this prison sentence.”
Radcliffe used around $515,000 from her accounts to fund real estate purchases, travel, gambling, and costs to operate his restaurant, the release said.
Prosecutors said the victim was moved into an assisted living facility but passed away in 2020 and Radcliffe tried to claim a life insurance policy pretending to be her dead spouse.
The FBI flagged the claim as fraudulent, starting the investigation that led to Radcliffe’s arrest and sentencing.
In November 2025, he admitted to stealing from her accounts and on Tuesday, he was sentenced to 30 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, a $20,000 fine, $124,000 restitution to the IRS, and forfeiture of $515,000, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Washington.