ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Caregiver Allegedly Attempted To Pawn Victim’s Jewelry
$40,000 In Diamond Jewelry
Protecting Seniors From Caregiver Theft
Whenever a dishonest caregiver or other stranger enters a senior’s home, jewelry, cash, credit and debit cards and ATM cards, checks and entire check registers, and other valuables provide an easy target. 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 has been the victim of financial elder abuse by a caregiver or other person in Santa Clara County, call us today at (415)441-8669. We will pursue all persons responsible for a senior’s injury. Our toll-free number is 1-888-50EVANS (888-503-8267).
Caregiver Arrested For Theft
In one recently reported case,[1] a caregiver is in custody for alleged theft from her elderly patient. According to a local Sheriff’s Office an 83-year-old elderly woman discovered numerous pieces of jewelry missing from her home. She reported the theft to the Sheriff’s Office. The victim described the stolen items as various pieces of diamond jewelry valued at $40,000.00. A few days after the report, Sheriff’s Detectives received information about a woman attempting to pawn the stolen items. According to the news report, detectives responded to the pawn shop and recovered the stolen jewelry and return it to the victim.
Protecting Older Loved Ones
Any senior, like the victim in the reported case, is vulnerable to theft when strangers are working in his or her home as caregivers or doing any other kind of work. Before you allow any stranger to work in an older loved one’s home, do a background check on the person, even if they are coming through an agency. If your older loved one has in-home assistance of any kind make sure their credit and debit cards, jewelry, cash and other valuables are in a safe place away from reach. If a senior has any cards that they never use, destroy them and alert the relevant bank or credit card company that the card is discontinued. Never give a caregiver a credit card or ATM card to shop or get cash for a senior. Keep financial information, bank account numbers and Social Security numbers away from a caregiver’s or other stranger’s glance. Never, ever grant a power of attorney to a caregiver. Visit your older loved one as regularly as you can to see firsthand how they are doing. Accompany older loved ones whenever they go shopping or go to the bank or have any sort of meeting about financial matters. Most important of all, if you suspect anything wrong, do something about it right away.
Contact Us
Ingrid M. Evans represents elder and dependent adults in Santa Clara County who are victims of any kind of financial exploitation or other abuse. Ingrid can be reached at (415) 441-8669 or TOLL FREE 1-888-80EVANS (888-503-8267), or email us at <a href=”mailto:info@evanslaw.com”>info@evanslaw.com</a>.
[1] Evans Law Firm, Inc. was not involved in the reported case in any way. The case was reported on by a local Memphis, Tennessee TV station.
