ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Caregiver Sentenced To 51 Months In Prison
Other Examples Of Financial Elder Abuse
Protecting Older Loved Ones From Financial Abuse
Financial abuse of elders and dependent adults is a widespread and growing plague in America and the potential financial predators seem to be everywhere – caregivers, insurance agents, stockbrokers, financial advisors, boyfriends and girlfriends, second spouses, neighbors, pastors, trustees, persons with power of attorney, conservators, contractors and others. Whoever the wrongdoer, Evans Law Firm, Inc. represents senior victims of financial elder abuse, and their families, in Marin County and throughout California. We pursue all remedies available to the injured senior 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). Anyone assisting the wrongdoer in financial elder abuse is also guilty of financial elder abuse under the law. Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 15610.30 (definition of financial elder abuse includes anyone assisting in the wrongful taking of a senior’s property). If you or a loved one is a victim of financial elder abuse in Marin County or elsewhere in California, call our lawyers today at (415)441-8669. Our toll-free number is 1-888-50EVANS (888-503-8267).
Recent Sentence For Financial Elder Abuse And Other Examples[1]
- A caregiver for an elderly couple had as one of her duties was to pay the couple’s bills from their bank account. Over the course of three years, according to prosecutors she stole more than $280,000 from their account. She used the funds to make payments on the many credit card accounts she and her husband held. She also used the money to make a down payment on a new house and to install windows and air conditioning in it, as well as to pay for her daughter’s wedding reception. She was eventually charged with bank fraud, identity theft and financial elder abuse. According to reports, she received a sentence of 51 months in prison.
- In another case the second spouse of a senior, who was in her 20s, wrote checks from the bank account of her 70-year-old husband without his knowledge. The husband said that he had suspected that she was financially abusing him shortly after they married, but that he did not report her to law enforcement because he did not want her to be deported from the United States. The two eventually divorced, and the woman was charged with money laundering and other crimes.
- In another case, a senior and her husband relocated upon their retirement and their social life revolved around their church. After her husband died, the widow became close friends with a priest at the church. Her siblings expressed concern when she gave him many expensive gifts. When the woman died, she left a substantial portion of her estate to the pastor according to reports. He never received criminal charges, but the church reportedly removed him from his duties at the parish where he had met the elderly widow
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 these reported cases is to stay involved in their lives and financial affairs and constantly monitor all bank and investment accounts. Never, ever, allow a senior to give a power of attorney to a caregiver or new “friend” who enters their life under the guise of helping them. Trace where their funds are being invested and carefully review statements to see if they have been doctored or otherwise appear suspicious. Make sure their Social Security and other pension benefits are being deposited into their own account and have not been diverted elsewhere. 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. Accompany any older loved one to any business meetings.
Contact Us
Ingrid M. Evans represents victims of financial elder abuse in Marin County or elsewhere in California contact 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 these cases in any way.
