ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Fraudulent Money Transfers
Bank Flags Suspicious Transactions
Protecting Seniors From Fraud
Financial predators can be strangers or new friends or caregivers entering a senior’s life or those the senior has known and trusted for years. Unscrupulous stock promoters and financial advisors may prey on seniors. Evans Law Firm, Inc. represents senior victims of financial elder abuse in Los Gatos, Santa Clara County, and throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, and pursues all remedies against all parties responsible for a senior’s injury, including double damages and payment of attorneys’ fees and costs for having to bring suit to get the injured party’s money back. Cal. Probate Code § 859 (double damages); Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 15657.5 (mandatory attorneys’ fees and expenses in financial elder abuse cases). Outright theft is a crime, as discussed in the reported case below, and sales of unregistered investments or other fraudulent investments may also constitute violations of other State and federal laws. See, e.g., Cal. Corp. Code § 25400 et seq.; Securities Act of 1933, 15 U.S.C. §§ 77a et seq., and Rule 10b-5 under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, codified at 17 C.F.R. § 240.10b-5. If you or a loved one is a victim of financial elder abuse by a broker, advisor or other party in Los Gatos or elsewhere in Santa Clara County or the San Francisco Bay Area, call our lawyers today at (415)441-8669. Our toll-free number is 1-888-50EVANS (888-503-8267).
Recent Sentencing Of Former Financial Advisor[1]
A former financial advisor was recently sentenced today to two years in prison and ordered to pay $158,960 in restitution for various financial fraud crimes perpetrated against elderly customers. According to court documents, from 2016 to 2021, the former financial advisor worked at a major bank. During his employment, the government claims the individual targeted elderly bank customers and stole $158,960 from these victims’ accounts. Prosecutors alleged he stole $113,160 from one elderly victim’s account by using the name and identity of the account beneficiary to fraudulently transfer the funds into another account that he had set up and controlled in the beneficiary’s name. The government alleged that he next stole $45,800 from the account of a second elderly victim by transferring funds in incremental amounts into a separate account that he had set up and controlled in the victim’s name. The government maintained he then pocketed the money by transferring these funds into his own personal bank account.
Toward the end of his scheme, court records revealed that the individual attempted to conceal his theft by stealing $16,700 from a third elderly customer’s account and attempting to funnel that money into the second victim’s account to partially replace what he previously stole. However, this transaction was flagged, and the funds were reverted.
Protecting Loved Ones From Financial Elder Abuse
If you are a family member of an older loved one the best way to protect them from the kind of fraud described in the reported case is to stay involved in their lives and financial affairs and constantly monitor all bank and investment accounts. Accompany any older loved one to any business meetings so that they are not sold an unsuitable investment or insurance product or coaxed into signing blank forms or checks under the pressure of a broker or agent. Trace where their funds are being invested and carefully review statements to see if they have been doctored or otherwise appear suspicious. Keep hard copies of all bank and investment firm records. You may need them as banks only keep records for seven years. Closely examine all bills that are being paid directly from any account to make sure they are your loved one’s bills and not the bills of someone else who has given the account information to their own creditors for bill payments.
Contact Us
If you or a loved one has been the victim of of financial elder abuse in Los Gatos or elsewhere in Santa Clara County or throughout California contact Ingrid M. Evans at Evans Law Firm, Inc. at (415) 441-8669, or by email at <a href=”mailto:info@evanslaw.com”>info@evanslaw.com</a>. 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.
