You could say this person whittled down the recipient:
to reduce the amount of, as if by whittling;
pare down;
take away by degrees (usually followed by down, away, etc.)
to whittle down the company's overhead; to whittle away one's inheritance.
More info on whittle:
carve (wood) into an object by repeatedly cutting small slices from it. synonyms: pare, shave, trim, carve, shape, model
"he sat whittling a piece of wood"
carve (an object) from wood by repeatedly cutting small slices from it. reduce something in size, amount, or extent by a gradual series of steps.
"the short list of fifteen was whittled down to five"
synonyms: erode, wear away, eat away, reduce, diminish, undermine, weaken, subvert, compromise, impair, impede, hinder, cripple, disable, enfeeble, sap
"his powers were whittled away"
reduce, cut down, cut back, prune, trim, slim down, pare down, shrink, decrease, diminish
"the ten teams have been whittled down to six"
