WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas — A Texas man was sentenced to 60 years in prison for stealing a coin collection from his father-in-law, according to the Williamson County District Attorney.
56-year-old Pearland resident Christopher Alan Young reportedly traveled with his wife to Georgetown, Texas, from 2021-2022, to help his elderly father-in-law prepare to move.
Throughout this year-long span, valuable gold, silver and commemorative coins appeared to be missing. The coins were originally collected by Young’s father-in-law throughout a 60-year time frame, while he served in the U.S. Air Force.
Young provided his father-in-law with a safe to protect the coins, which were locked in a closet with only one key available to access them.
Additional coins then disappeared in mid-2022, after Young helped transport some of his father-in-law’s items to a Round Rock storage area. The missing coins were reportedly valued at somewhere from $141,000 to $240,000 that year.
After further investigation, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) found that Young stole the coins before selling them to precious metal retailers in Pearland, Georgetown and across several other U.S. cities. He also sold the coins to jewelers.
Investigators confirmed that Young was in the same locations where the coins were sold during the same time frame.
Young’s family members allegedly attempted to confront him, but he left the state and was eventually arrested several weeks later in Louisiana by a casino resort.
He was found guilty of theft of property from an elderly individual on March 12 in Williamson County, Texas, where he was ordered to pay a fine of $10,000.