ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Multiple Fraudulent Transactions Alleged
82-Year-Old Victim
Protecting Older Loved Ones From Financial Elder Abuse
Stealing a senior’s debit or credit cards and making unauthorized charges are a common form of financial elder abuse. Whenever a dishonest caregiver or other stranger enters a senior’s home or nursing home room, credit and debit cards and ATM cards, checks and entire check registers, accessible cash, and jewelry or other valuables provide an easy target. Dishonest caregivers strike quickly when they get their hands on a card and run up numerous unauthorized charges in a short time. This is especially true if the senior is confined to bed or one room of the home or otherwise unable to know what is going on around them. Patients in skilled nursing facilities or assisted care facilities are also at risk of caregiver fraud/caregiver theft as a case discussed below illustrates. Any taking of a senior’s property, or any assistance in that taking, is a crime and grounds for civil liability of the person doing the taking and anyone assisting him or her. California Penal Code § 368 and Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 15610.30 (definition of financial elder abuse). California broadly defines what constitutes financial elder or dependent adult abuse:
(a) “Financial abuse” of an elder or dependent adult occurs when a person or entity does any of the following:
(1) Takes, secretes, appropriates, obtains, or retains real or personal property of an elder or dependent adult for a wrongful use or with intent to defraud, or both.
(2) Assists in taking, secreting, appropriating, obtaining, or retaining real or personal property of an elder or dependent adult for a wrongful use or with intent to defraud, or both.
(3) Takes, secretes, appropriates, obtains, or retains, or assists in taking, secreting, appropriating, obtaining, or retaining, real or personal property of an elder or dependent adult by undue influence, as defined in Section 15610.70.
If you or a loved one is a victim of financial elder abuse or caregiver fraud/caregiver theft in Mill Valley or elsewhere in Marin County, call us today at (415)441-8669. Our toll-free number is 1-888-50EVANS (888-503-8267).
Case Example of Caregiver Fraud/Caregiver Theft
In one reported case*, a caregiver is facing charges after she allegedly defrauded one of her patients to fund a shopping spree. The caregiver is facing multiple counts of ID fraud and elderly exploitation after authorities found a series of suspicious transactions over several months. The woman was reportedly a caregiver for an 82-year-old woman who had dementia and Alzheimer’s. According to police, the patient was moved from one care facility to another senior living facility and assigned a power of attorney as her illness advanced. The power of attorney discovered fraud alerts from the victim’s credit card issuers, police said.
An investigation into the charge led to the discovery of more fraudulent transactions on the patient’s account. Police tracked six unauthorized purchases, including a $1000 bill from Lowe’s, a car purchase, and rent payments. Authorities also determined there was an attempt to open a new account in the patient’s name. Police traced the transactions back to the arrested caregiver, who is also accused of scamming two other patients. Police have issued a warrant for her arrest, but the suspect remains at large.
Protecting Older Loved Ones From Financial Elder Abuse
Careful monitoring of all a senior’s accounts – not just the household checking account – may have caught the reported fraud in this case sooner than many months. Start your due diligence even before you get to the account monitoring stage. Always do a background check on anyone you hire as a caregiver; get references and call them. Never, ever give a caregiver a Power of Attorney, credit card, or a blank check. Stay involved in any senior loved one’s life so a stranger does not have the opportunity for this kind of theft and exploitation.
Contact Us
If you sense any kind of financial elder abuse of an older loved one, call us right away. Ingrid M. Evans has years of experience in representing seniors and their families against abusers of any kind, including in-home caregivers and care facility staff in Tiburon or elsewhere in Marin County. You can reach us at (415) 441-8669, or by email at info@evanslaw.com. Our toll-free number is 1-888-50EVANS (888-503-8267).
*Evans Law Firm, Inc. was not involved in the reported case in any way.
