ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Alleged Offenses Against Elderly Victim Span Years
Caregiver Convinced Victim To Allow Her Family To Move In
Protecting Older Loved Ones
Dishonest persons with access to an older person’s money, bank accounts or confidential information may take advantage of that access to wrongfully take a senior’s money or property,. If they do so, they are stealing and committing the additional crime of financial elder abuse against the senior or other dependent adult. All seniors are at risk of financial elder abuse, but those seniors living at home under the care of an in-home caregiver are at an increased risk of financial elder abuse because they have a stranger in their home with potential access to cash, checks, valuables, credit cards, and confidential financial information. 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.
Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 15610.30.
Whatever the “form” or frequency or size of financial elder abuse, under this broad statutory definition, 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. If you or a senior loved one has been the victim of any kind of elder abuse, including neglect, physical, emotional and financial elder abuse in the San Francisco Bay Area call us today at (415)441-8669. Our toll-free number is 1-888-50EVANS (888-503-8267).
Case Example [1]
Federal authorities have indicted a Florida mother and son, charging them with fraud and identity theft offenses involving an elderly victim that spanned years. According to court records, the mother became a live-in caregiver for the victim in 2020. She later obtained permission from the victim for her husband and son to move into the residence.
“This indictment alleges a cruel betrayal of trust,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. “According to the charges, the victim, an elderly woman, opened her home to these defendants and, in return, they exploited her age, her trust, and her identity for financial gain. … The charges are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.”
Beginning in 2020 and continuing through 2023, the caregiver’s son is alleged to have used the victim’s personal identifying information to open fraudulent credit cards, make unauthorized purchases, and transfer funds for his personal benefit. The conduct involved submitting false credit applications, impersonating the victim in communications with financial institutions, and initiating unauthorized electronic transfers from the victim’s bank accounts. His mother, the live-in caregiver, is alleged to have known about the fraud and failed to report it to authorities.
Protecting Older Loved Ones
As the loved one of an older person needing in-home care, there are several steps you can take to protect him or her from caregiver fraud/caregiver theft and caregiver financial elder abuse. Always do a background check on any caregiver before he or she is hired. Ask for references and check them. Once the caregiver is on the job have the timecards sent to you so you can verify their accuracy. There are other important steps to follow as well to prevent more elaborate schemes of financial abuse. Careful monitoring of a senior’s checking account – and close review of cancelled checks – may have caught the reported fraud in this case sooner than eight or nine months. Always monitor a senior loved one’s checking account; take a look at it online every day if you can. 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
Ingrid M. Evans and Evans Law Firm, Inc. represent seniors and their families in the San Francisco Bay Area in bringing lawsuits against any persons or businesses responsible for the abuse. Ingrid and our other elder abuse attorneys can be reached at (415) 441-8669, or by email at [email protected]. Our toll-free number is 1-888-50EVANS (888-503-8267).
[1] Evans Law Firm, Inc. was not involved in any way. The case was reported By the U.S. Department of Justice in a press release.
