ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Allegedly Stole From Wheelchair Bound Senior
Jewelry And Sterling Silver Recovered From Pawn Shop
Suspect Facing Multiple Charges
Jewelry, cash, checks, credits, and valuables like silver all can disappear from a senior’s home when a dishonest caregiver or stranger enters the home for any period of time. Always do a background check on anyone entering an older loved one’s home but be vigilant even if the background check is clean. Valuables like cash, jewelry and silver should be removed from the senior’s home and kept in a secure place. Stealing jewelry or other valuable personal property is a crime and is also financial elder abuse. Any taking of a senior’s property (of whatever kind) and any assistance in that taking are crimes 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 elder or dependent adult abuse or neglect in Atherton or elsewhere 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).
Caregiver Arrested For Alleged Theft
In a recently reported case, [1] a caregiver has been arrested for allegedly stealing jewelry, and a sterling silver flatware set worth approximately $25,000 from an elderly woman in a wheelchair she was a caretaker for. The suspect was charged with the exploitation of a vulnerable adult, grand larceny, and obtaining property under false pretenses. A property crimes investigator recovered most of the stolen items at pawn shops. The suspect is out of jail on a personal recognizance bond and awaiting trial.
Protecting Care Facility Residents From Abuse
Always do a background check on anyone you hire as a caregiver; get references and call them. Store jewelry and other valuables like sterling silver flatware somewhere safe which the caregiver or other in=home employee cannot access. Some families take pictures of all the rooms in the older person’s home so they can later check if anything has gone missing. Never allow a caregiver access to checks, cash or credit cards or PINs. Even if you have checks and cards under lock and key continue to monitor a senior’s account online as online or phone access may also redirect their money to a caregiver’s accounts or the senior’s money may be used to pay a caregiver’s bills online. Never, ever give a caregiver a Power of Attorney, credit card, or a blank check.
Contact Us
If you sense any kind of abuse of an older loved one in Atherton or anywhere else in the Bay Area or throughout the State of California, 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. 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).
[1] Evans Law Firm, Inc. was not involved in the case in any way.
