Couple attacked by chimps victimized by engine entrepreneur

A California couple who made headlines in 2005 after they were left disfigured by two aggressive chimpanzees were later victimized by a Myanmar businessman, who preyed on their generous natures, pilfering more than a $350,000 from their accounts.

For decades, St. James and LaDonna Davis lived with Moe, a chimpanzee they had raised like a son, NBC News reported.

Government officials had Moe removed from their home to a nearby wildlife sanctuary, where the couple regularly visited the chimp. During a 2005 visit, two other chimps escaped their enclosure, and went after the Davises.

One of the primates bit one of LaDonna’s fingers off. Meanwhile, St. James lost an eye and eight fingers, as well as parts of his nose, buttocks, lips, genitals and feet.

The Davises were never the same again. St. James underwent several operations, but never regained his ability to walk.

The couple sued, and the matter settled out of court for $4 million.

In 2017, the Davises met a man named Min Zaw Maw, an entrepreneur working on a natural gas and propane combustion engine. Maw befriended the couple and before long, told them about his financial woes.

Maw was later invited to stay at the Davises home, shortly before St. James suffered a stroke and was hospitalized.

Once St. James was in the hospital, Maw started writing hundreds of thousands in checks to himself, and squatters started taking over the couple’s properties, NBC News reported. The large withdrawals wouldn’t be noticed until long after St. James’ 2018 death.

In April 2019, social workers discovered LaDonna in a feces-riddled room filled with spider wasps.

LaDonna was unable to tell social workers her age or what year it was.

The couple’s longtime friend Michael McCasland took Maw to court, and alleged in court documents the businessman was taking advantage of LaDonna and selling off the couple’s belongings.

In court filings, Maw denied the allegations. In fact, he claimed he stepped in to take care of the couple as their health worsened.

A settlement was reached in late 2022, granting Maw $175,000 in cash and all of the vehicles purchased by LaDonna “and/or funds belonging to LaDonna that are currently in his possession.”

The settlement avoids the “significant expense of further litigation” and secures LaDonna’s assets, a court-appointed conservator wrote in court papers. 

LaDonna, 80, now lives in an elder care facility, according to the report.

Authorities are not actively pursuing elder abuse charges against Maw, NBC News said.