ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Financial Powers of Attorney and the Elderly A financial Power of Attorney (POA) is a very important legal document where the principal authorizes an agent to act on the principal’s behalf in business transactions and more.[1] Someone with a financial Power of Attorney has legal authority to transfer […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Commodity Futures Trading Commission Wants Whistleblower Help Commission Issues $2 Million Reward On July 1, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced a whistleblower award of $2 million to two whistleblowers who blew the whistle on violations of commodities trading regulations.[1] The CFTC is the government agency […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER The Importance of Accurate Age and Income Information How Insurance Agents and Advisors May Mislead You and Carriers Making You “Eligible” for Ineligible Contracts Our litigators think annuities are not a good investment for seniors, particularly when the application process can be rigged by an unscrupulous agent to […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Cheating Elderly Investors A Rash of Ponzi Schemes Targeting Seniors While the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continues to make protecting seniors a priority, many still fall victim to Ponzi schemes and other financial fraud. Crooked insurance agents, retirement planners, and financial advisors cheat the elderly out of […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER False Claims Against the Federal Government Whistleblowers Rewarded for Helping Government Recover Billions With help from employee or other insider whistleblowers, the government has recovered billions of dollars from companies involved in Medicare and Medicaid fraud, other financial fraud, flawed or unapproved pharmaceutical products, tax fraud, government contract fraud, physician/hospital kickbacks […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER What Does the Law Mean by “Undue Influence”? Undue Influence Over Seniors Undue influence is often a key element in financial elder abuse cases. Caregivers may exert undue influence over vulnerable seniors to get the senior to add them to a Will, grant them a Power of Attorney, […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Increasing Reports of Financial Elder Abuse Elder abuse is on the rise throughout the Bay Area. Reports of financial elder abuse in particular have increased sharply in the last year in San Francisco and other Bay Area counties.  Studies show that elder abuse is still vastly underreported so […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Taxpayer First Act Helps Whistleblowers New Privacy Safeguards, Quicker Response Time, and Protections Against Retaliation The House and Senate acted this month to strengthen the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) Whistleblower Program and help whistleblowers who bring forth evidence of taxpayer fraud. The Taxpayer First Act (TFA), which the […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER The Risks of Abuse and Neglect Watch for Signs of Elder Abuse As many as 1 in 10 older adults is abused or neglected each year in the United States, and only 1 in 14 cases of elder abuse ever comes to the attention of authorities. Statistics show […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER False Claims Against the Federal Government Private Whistleblowers May Have Up To Ten Years To Report Fraud The U.S. Supreme Court recently held that private persons in some situations may have up to 10 years from an alleged fraud against the government to file a whistleblower (also known […]