Fresno Police Warning Public of Elder Abuse Scam

Today, perpetrators of elder abuse are increasingly using the internet and technology to defraud seniors, but a recent elder abuse scam in Fresno serves as an important reminder that more “old-fashioned” scams continue to target the elderly.

In this instance, individuals in Fresno have been approaching senior citizens to perform yard work or other home-improvement labor. In teams of two or more, these people will often claim to have worked for the elder in the past, thereby establishing a false sense of trust or security. Once these individuals begin their “work” at the elder’s home, one of them will distract the elder by talking to them or asking for a glass of water while the other sneaks into the home to steal expensive-looking objects.

In recent days, multiple instances of this type of fraud have been reported in Fresno. Witnesses have reported that one suspect is a heavy-set dark-haired male in his 40s and the other is a thin female, 18-20 years old, with dark shoulder-length hair. The Fresno Police Department asks that you contact their Elder Abuse Unit at 559-621-6317 with any information on the suspects.

Elder abuse continues to be a rampant and immoral problem in California and throughout the country. As more and more scammers target the elderly, it is vital to be extra cautious of any individual who attempts to enter or gain access to your home or personal information. If you have an elder relative living alone, be sure to check up on him or her regularly and be aware of any suspicious behavior by people in that elder’s life. If you believe that you or a loved one has been the victim of elder abuse or fraud, contact the Evans Law Firm in California at 415-441-8669 or 888-50EVANS (3-8267) for a free and confidential consultation, or email info@evanslaw.com.

Should You Purchase Long-Term-Care Insurance?

Costs of long-term care are rising, and more seniors are finding themselves in positions where such care appears necessary or desirable. But is Long-Term-Care Insurance a reasonable and viable way of dealing with this problem? A recent article in the Wall Street Journal weighs the pros and cons of purchasing long-term care insurance. The article pits the arguments of George Mason University professor Mark Meiners against those of California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform senior staff attorney Prescott Cole.

While the two consider similar evidence to arrive at diverging opinions, they agree on certain important facts about long-term-care insurance. For one, both Meiners and Cole agree that the decision about whether to purchase long-term care insurance is most pressing to individuals with “mid-wealth” or mid-level savings - people who may identify with the middle-class income bracket. With more than $2000 of savings, these individuals do not qualify for Medicaid, but at the same time are not capable of financing their own long-term care using savings.

The two experts also agree that regardless of whether or not someone purchases long-term-care insurance, he or she should have additional savings set aside for the purpose of long-term care. This is because few, if any, long-term care policies offer 100% coverage of daily care in nursing homes. Even if you are covered under a long-term-care insurance policy, you will most likely have to pay a portion of the nursing home bills. This is especially significant given the “90-day rule” or policy that most insurance packages offer. Given that many long-term-care insurance policies do not kick in until after the insured has spent 90 days in a nursing home facility, individuals wind up bearing the financial responsibility for any stay under 90 days.

Prescott Cole points out that this 90-day rule, paired with the statistic that 67% to 70% of seniors who enter nursing homes leave before 90 days, means that regardless of whether or not a senior has long-term-care insurance, they will probably have to pay out-of-pocket for their stay at a nursing home. Cole applies this instance to a more general argument against long-term-care insurance: the cost (typically $3,500 per year) is extremely high, while the benefits are low. In addition, Cole argues that the risk associated with long-term-care is low; today, only 3.7% of seniors are currently living in nursing homes. As an alternative to long-term insurance, Cole suggests that a person might begin early on to set aside the amount he or she would otherwise pay for long-term insurance into savings specifically for that purpose. That way, the individual would have a sizeable fund on which to draw should the need for long-term care arise.

Meiners counters that this proposed method could be risky if the cost of long-term-care eventually exceeds the amount of savings. Yet, Meiner also acknowledges that even with long-term insurance coverage, an individual may outlive or outspend that coverage, thereby acknowledging that not even a long-term insurance plan is an entirely safe bet.

An added consideration – especially to seniors considering long-term care insurance – is that of insurance scams and fraud. If you suspect that you or a loved one has been the victim of long-term care insurance fraud in California, contact the Evans Law Firm for a free and confidential consultation at 415-441-8669 or 1-888-50EVANS (3-8264). Or contact the Evans Law Firm by email at info@evanslaw.com

California Agent Arrested on Charges of Financial Elder Abuse

Life Health Pro

 Recently, a life insurance salesperson in Los Angeles was arrested on charges of fraud and elder abuse. This incident highlights the unfortunate prevalence of financial crime and abuses targeting seniors today. The best way to avoid long-term scams and fraud is to stay informed and do your research whenever buying or looking into long-term care or insurance. Depending on your financial bracket, it may be prudent to attempt to get Medi-Cal coverage rather than purchase a new insurance policy.

Two resources that are helpful regarding the quality and legitimacy of insurance companies in California are the California Department of Insurance and the California Partnership for Long-Term Care.

Make sure you are aware of the exact benefits you do and do not receive from every potential policy, and compare policies and prices before you select one. Similarly, be aware of the restrictions of each policy. Do not buy duplicate policies.

If you do decide to purchase a policy, fill out your own application to ensure the accuracy of all the information in it, and follow-up regularly to make sure you continue to receive updates regarding the status of your policy. Always pay your premiums by check or debit card, and make the checks payable to the insurance company instead of the individual agent. Keep track of all your documents and payments related to the policy, and avoid pressure to “upgrade” your policy once you have decided upon it.

Finally, if you suspect a scam or fraudulent behavior, contact the Department of Insurance to report it immediately. To report fraud in California, call 1-800-927-HELP.

In Los Angeles, California, life insurance agent Frank Conlon was arrested on charges of financial elder abuse. According to the California Department of Insurance (CDI), Conlon was charged with two felonies: defrauding seniors and embezzlement of funds over $1 million. Among the California Penal Code statutes he allegedly violated were those of elder abuse, grand theft, and fraud.

The CDI report and investigation shows that while working as a life insurance agent, Conlon allegedly diverted significant sums of premium funds from seniors who believed he was investing their money in life insurance and annuities purchases. Between September 2011 and the date of his arrest in spring 2012, Conlon allegedly embezzled over $1 million worth of funds from his clients, many of whom were unassuming senior citizens.

In addition, Conlon allegedly intentionally misled his clients with false documents from purported insurance companies, in order to make his clients believe that their money was sent to the insurance company.

Two victims who were Conlon’s clients, 82 and 86 years old, had entrusted funds to Conlon to purchase life insurance and annuities on their behalf. These victims ended up losing money that had been a substantial portion of their retirement funds. According to the CDI, Conlon diverted these funds and used them for his personal purposes, while the elderly victims were led to believe that their money was being invested in life insurance.

These two elderly citizens represent a small portion of elderly victims of financial abuse. It is all too often that we see insurance companies and agents take advantage of the vulnerabilities of old age. The arrest of Frank Conlon is a step in the right direction for elder abuse prevention in California and the rest of the country. Lawmakers, law officials, and citizens must be vigilant in avenging, but also in preventing elder financial abuse.

If you believe that you or a loved one has been the victim of financial elder abuse in California, contact the Evans Law Firm for a free and confidential consultation with a California lawyer at today at 415-441-8669 or toll-free at 888-50-EVANS. Or contact us by email at info@evanslaw.com .

Lodi Police Said Nurse Imposters Took Credit Card From Man
Sacramento Bee

Two women in Lodi, California were arrested earlier this week on suspicion of burglary, elder abuse, possession of stolen property, forgery, and felonious use of a credit card. Dressed in scrubs, these two women entered into an elderly man’s house and claimed to be hospital nurses. Police report that after being allowed inside, the women took the man’s wallet and left. The man reported the theft to his credit card company, and police apprehended the women at a JC Penney department store.

Deception is just one of the many forms of elder abuse that takes place on a daily basis in California and the rest of the United States. Posing as a qualified nurse or caregiver is a common occurrence within and outside of homes and institutions. Many incidents of caregiver theft and fraud occur when individuals pose as qualified caregivers with the intent to steal from or defraud elderly people. For more information on elder abuse in California, or if suspect you or a loved one have been targeted by caregiver fraud, contact the Evans Law Firm for a free and confidential consultation.

Long-term care uncertainty is a growing issue

LA Times

As Americans age and the cost of long-term care increases, long-term care has become one of the biggest health insurance uncertainties for people aged 65 and older. Long-term care differs from other types of care because it constitutes care for people with disabilities or chronic illnesses. Long-term care exists to provide services that assist in activities of daily living – assistance that many seniors require as they age and become unable to rely completely on themselves. Yet, Medicare does not cover long-term custodial care at home or in nursing homes.  

The fact that Medicare does not pay for custodial care is a fact that many seniors are realizing – often too late. While Medicare does cover payments for acute illnesses and medical treatments, it will not help pay for a person to assist in feeding, bathing, dressing, or other daily activities. Thus, a senior who enters into a nursing home facility must pay an average cost of $70,000 a year without the help of Medicare. It is not until the senior’s funds have dwindled to a few thousand dollars that Medicaid or Medi-Cal kicks in to pay nursing home bills.

Yet, even qualifying for Medi-Cal coverage for long-term care is an extremely complicated process. The rules and necessities for qualifying are so convoluted that one consumer advocacy group uses a 12-page flowchart to help determine whether or not a person qualifies for Medi-Cal to pay for long-term care.

According to the LA Times, about 1,384,000 people in the United States live in nursing homes. A decade ago, approximately 1,456,000 seniors lived in nursing homes. A large part of this decrease is the increase in cost of care and living at nursing home facilities. As a result, millions of seniors who require help continue to live in their communities and are assisted by friends and family members who act as unpaid volunteer caregivers. While it can be comforting to rely on the assistance of family and friends, the increase in community-based caregivers has also given rise to the opportunity for caregiver fraud and abuse.

The Hardts say they were initially drawn to the investments because they were led to believe that they would receive income on the investments comparable to rental income they had previously been receiving. Yet, the monthly checks they received from the real estate investments were not tied to rental income, but to a combination of their own funds and money that the investment company had borrowed. The Hardts allege that this information was not adequately disclosed to them. Brian Miller, their lawyer, adds that LPL “used tricks” in structuring the deal with the Hardts.

The Hardts allege that in addition to being misled by LPL with regards to the nature and implications of their investments, they also were made to pay exorbitant fees ranging between 22 to 25 percent of the $3.4 they had initially invested.

A FINRA panel found LPL liable and awarded the Hardts $1.37 million.

Miller further adds that under California law, elder abuse claims may be brought in cases involving alleged securities fraud. For more information on financial or physical elder abuse claims throughout California, contact the Evans Law Firm.

Charges of Elder Abuse, Negligence After Dementia Patient Dies of Exposure
Bay City News

The family of Kenneth Chin, an elderly dementia patient who died last February, filed a wrongful death suit against his conservator Jewish Family and Children’s Services and the transit agencies responsible for his transportation: MEDSAM Enterprises.  

After not returning home to his assisted living facility in San Francisco’s Richmond District on February 25, 2011, 73-year-old Chin was reported missing. His body was discovered on March 6 in Lincoln Park, and autopsy results indicated that he died from hypothermia.

Chin’s living relatives, represented by Ingrid Evans of the Evans Law Firm, gathered at a press conference on February 8, 2012. His niece Jennifer Chin said she remembered “lying awake at night, it was pouring and freezing… praying that he was indoors somewhere.”

Plaintiff alleges that the MEDSAM shuttle van negligently dropped Chin off at the wrong location, causing him to wander around San Francisco for days before succumbing to the elements in Lincoln Park. In addition, the conservator Jewish Family and Children’s Services did not notify Chin’s family that he was missing until three hours after the event – during which time it had grown dark, cold, and stormy. The family began a search immediately, but was significantly hindered by the delay and its consequences.

Chin says he brings this complaint in order to ensure that such wrongful negligence and tragedy never happen again.

Lawsuit alleges that dementia patient Kenneth Chin wandered the streets of San Francisco for ten days and died as a result of negligence by a shuttle bus company and its driver.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/the-evans-law-firm/elder-abuse-chin-case/prweb9160123.htm

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) February 08, 2012

San Francisco elder abuse attorney Ingrid Evans, The Evans Law Firm, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit (San Francisco County Superior Court, Case #CGC-12-518046) alleging that a shuttle bus company and its driver were negligent in the transport, care and death of an elderly dementia patient who went missing for ten days.

The lawsuit alleges that MEDSAM Enterprises, its driver, San Francisco Paratransit and Jewish Family and Children's Services (JFCS) engaged in elder abuse and negligence in the death of 73-year old dementia patient Kenneth Chin, who went missing for ten days after he was allegedly dropped off in the wrong location and not taken directly to his assisted living facility.

According to the complaint, on February 24, 2011, Chin allegedly boarded a MEDSAM shuttle van, driven by Eugene Pearlman, for his regular shuttle ride from Irene Swindell’s Center for Adult Day Services to his home at Nacario’s Home #5. The complaint states that when Chin did not arrive at the assisted living facility at his scheduled time, his conservator, JFCS, was notified as required. However the lawsuit is alleging that JFCS hampered search efforts by negligently delaying notification to Chin's family.

"The three-hour notification delay by JFCS was critical to Chin's safety especially since his dead body was found approximately one mile from his house," said Evans. "By the time the family was notified that Chin was missing, darkness had already set in and an approaching storm made search conditions extremely difficult," added Evans.

The lawsuit states that despite an alleged awareness that Chin required special attention due to his dementia, the bus driver allegedly failed to ensure Chin's safe delivery to his home in a manner consistent with Chin's special needs. Chin suffered from debilitating mental and emotional conditions that required him to be escorted from his transportation to his residence.

"The bus driver had an obligation and a duty of care to walk Chin to the door and ensure his safe arrival due to Chin's dementia," said Evans. "Instead, no one knows for sure where Chin was dropped off. All we know is that he was left stranded in the freezing cold and wandered around San Francisco for days and died," added Evans.

Chin suffered from dementia and required adult care, supervision and special transportation. The family believes that Chin was left to aimlessly wander for days without food or shelter and, as a result, he suffered a horrible death. Ten days after he disappeared, a man walking his dog found Chin's body lying face down off the side of a path near the VA Hospital.

MEDSAM Enterprises, Inc. is a private shuttle van provider.

About Ingrid M. Evans
San Francisco elder abuse attorney Ingrid Evans, http://www.evanslaw.com, is an aggressive advocate protecting the elderly from consumer fraud along with physical and insurance, banking and financial abuse. In more than ten years protecting senior citizens, Evans has litigated and successfully resolved multiple cases involving senior citizen financial abuse, particularly for the sale of insurance products.

Evans was honored by Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC) for recovering approximately $5 million in restitution for 750 senior victims that were sold deferred annuities by AIG and its agents, and also recovered an estimated $100 million dollars in compensation for other senior victims against insurance companies in other legal actions.

As the quality of healthcare and the average life expectancy in the United States has gone up, so too unfortunately has the incidence of elder abuse. The demographic of people 85 years and older is the fastest growing age group in the United States, and many of those people require various degrees and forms of elder care. To meet this demand, both honest and alleged elder care institutions have cropped up all across the country. As cases of fraud and abuse are on the rise because of these alleged elder care institutions, it is becoming more and more imperative for elders and their loved ones to learn how to prevent elder abuse and how to distinguish between legitimate and fraudulent elder care providers.  

 Some examples of elder abuse in recent news and local headlines include caregiver theft, exploitation, and substandard care that puts the elder in physical danger. According to the National Center on Elder Abuse, reported instances of abuse towards elders have increased by 20% from 2000 to 2006. Yet an even bigger issue – according to the Dr. Mark Lachs of the New York-Presbyterian Healthcare system, is that most problems related to elder abuse are not even reported. An interview he conducted with 4,000 elders showed that only one out of thirteen incidences of elder abuse is detected and documented.

This is why, in today’s increasingly predatory climate, elder abuse prevention and awareness is as important as litigation and response. Not only elders, but their families, friends, and acquaintances should be on the lookout for signs of physical and financial abuse and neglect. These signs include but are not limited to: behavioral changes, unusual financial activity, or deteriorating healthcare with new caregivers or care providing institutions.

A New Year, New Laws
Camarillo Acorn

Among the hundreds of new state laws that will take effect in 2012 are a series that increase the punishment for elder abuse.

This effort to crackdown on elder abuse is an extremely important development in the ongoing struggle to eliminate elder abuse practices in California and the rest of the country. California has long been a pioneer in the area of elder law, and these recent laws are further indications of the state’s commitment to its elderly residents.

A list of the state laws is available at www.leginfo.ca.gov