ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Caregivers and Financial Elder Abuse
Caregiver Accused of Stealing $1.1 Million From 94-Year-Old
Preventing Caregiver Account Access
In-home caregivers have access to a senior’s valuables, credit cards, bank accounts and important papers unless you keep them out of reach. They also have access to a senior’s accounts via the phone or online. In one recently reported case,[1] police arrested a caregiver who allegedly stole $1.1 million from the 94-year old woman she cared for. The caregiver was arrested after allegedly trying to cash a $90,000 from the senior the day after the elderly woman died. Authorities report the caregiver also allegedly transferred a $650,000 trust of the senior to the caregiver’s daughter. The Alameda County and California elder abuse attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. represent seniors and their loved ones victimized by any form of caregiver theft or financial elder abuse. If you or someone you know is a victim of financial elder abuse in Marin County or elsewhere in California, call us today at 415-441-8669, and we can help.
Our litigators have represented families of deceased seniors who were victims of financial elder abuse on very similar fact patterns. Often, the theft will start out in relatively small amounts and then grow quickly overtime since the older patient is not likely to be aware of what is going on. Isolated seniors, such as the 94-year-old woman in the recent case, are the most vulnerable. Sheriffs investigating the case allege that the caregiver was able over a period of four years to write herself close to 150 checks on the elderly patient’s accounts.
Steps to Protect Yourself or a Senior Loved One From Abuse and Fraud:
- Never ever grant a Power of Attorney to a caregiver or show them a trust, Will or other financial papers.
- Never designate a caregiver as an authorized signer on any bank account.
- Keep Social Security numbers and account numbers in a secure place, off limits tany in-home caregivers.
- Never make a caregiver an authorized signer on a bank account or sign a blank check for them.
- Always run a background check and contact references for any in-home caregiver before hiring them.
- Frequently review the senior’s bank statements, records and mail.
- Speak to the senior alone, without the caregiver present, to find out any problems they may be having.
Report any suspicions to the police but also call elder abuse counsel to pursue all civil remedies available to senior victims under California elder abuse law. Our lawyers handle elder abuse cases of all varieties and know the remedies, extra damages, and awards of attorneys’ fees and costs to which you or your victimized loved one is entitled.
Contact Us
If you or a loved one been the victim of elder abuse in Alameda County or elsewhere in California, contact Ingrid M. Evans and the other Evans Law Firm elder abuse attorneys at (415) 441-8669, or by email at <a href=”mailto:info@evanslaw.com”>info@evanslaw.com</a>. We can help guide your case through investigation, discovery, through a jury trial or toward an equitable settlement. We handle cases involving physical and financial elder abuse, qui tam and whistleblower law, nursing home abuse, whole life insurance and universal life insurance, and indexed, variable, and fixed annuities.
[1] Evans Law Firm, Inc. was not involved in the case in any way.
