ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Caregiver Allegedly Altered Bank Account Withdrawal Slips
Fraudulent Transfers To Another Account
Charity Reported Theft To Police
Elderly persons are particularly vulnerable to financial exploitation by caregivers living in the senior’s home. Sometimes the financial abuse is theft of cash or a credit card but sometimes the theft is more complicated and disguised as in online access to accounts or forged checks or other documents. However the theft occurs, financial elder abuse is itself an additional crime (apart from theft) and grounds for a civil lawsuit for damages under California law. See Cal. Penal Code § 368 (crime of elder abuse) and Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 15610.30 (definition of financial elder abuse for civil liability). Evans Law Firm. Inc. represents victims and their families, and pursue all persons responsible, including the owners, administrators and staff directly responsible or as supervisors with a duty to protect residents from any kind of abuse. If you or a loved one has been the victim of financial elder abuse in Santa Clara County or anywhere in the Bay Area or throughout California, call us today at (415)441-8669. Our toll-free number is 1-888-50EVANS (888-503-8267).
Recent Caregiver Arrests
In one reported caregiver case,[1] a credit union has been told to reimburse a disabled, elderly woman after her caregiver stole $10,000 from her bank account. A charity that helped the woman with her finances complained to the authorities on her behalf. The victim’s account had a “two-to-sign” process in which a senior charity employee would sign a withdrawal slip, and the woman would countersign it at the credit union to get her money. But her caregiver, who went with her to the branch to take her money out, allegedly altered the withdrawal slips and used fraudulent transfer slips to move her money into a separate account, from which she could withdraw money from an ATM using the victim’s card. It was when a teller noticed that the withdrawal slip had been altered that the credit union let senior staff at the charity know that something was amiss. The matter was referred to the police and the credit union reimbursed the victim for the money stolen by altering the withdrawal slips and transfer slips to the caregiver’s account.
Preventing Caregiver Theft
Caregivers should not have access to cash, checks or credit cards in a senior’s home. Nor should the caregiver have access to financial information like bank account numbers and Social Security numbers are kept away from a caregiver’s glance. Monitor credit cards and bank accounts online as frequently as possible. Have financial statements and important papers mailed to your own address so others do not have access to you loved one’s business mail. Never, ever grant a power of attorney to a caregiver or nursing home staff member. Accompany older loved ones whenever they go shopping or go to the bank or have any sort of meeting about financial matters. You can be there to protect them from outright theft and the problems they may get into if they are sold an unsuitable investment or insurance product like an annuity. Perhaps most important of all, if you suspect anything wrong, do something about it right away.
Contact Us
If you suspect financial elder abuse of a loved one, friend or neighbor in Alameda County, or elsewhere in California, call Ingrid M. Evans at Evans Law Firm, Inc. at (415) 441-8669, or by email at info@evanslaw.com. Our toll-free number is 1-888-50EVANS (888-503-8267). Ingrid pursues all available remedies for families and injured seniors against those responsible.
[1] Evans Law Firm, Inc. was not involved in any of these cases in any way.
