ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Recent Sentencing For Fraud On Senior
Over $317,000 Stolen
Protecting Seniors From Fraud
Wiring money out of a senior’s bank accounts by online access to the accounts is a recurring form of financial elder abuse against older victims. Whatever the “form” or frequency or size of financial elder abuse, under this broad statutory definition, any taking of a senior’s property, or any assistance in that taking is a crime and grounds for civil liability of the person doing the taking and anyone assisting him or her. California Penal Code § 368. 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.
Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 15610.30.
In a recent sentencing, discussed below, a caregiver wired over $317,000 out of a senior’s account over the course of a year.. If you or a loved one is a victim of elder or dependent adult abuse or neglect in the San Francisco Bay Area call us today at (415)441-8669. Our toll-free number is 1-888-50EVANS (888-503-8267).
Caregiver Sentenced For Fraud
In a recently reported case, [1] a caregiver has been sentenced to 3 years’ imprisonment after she admitted to taking more than $300,000 from her victim. According to court documents, the defendant convinced her victim to wire money into her bank account under false pretenses on at least 12 occasions between November 2021 and August 2022. Defendant admitted to lying to the victim about needing money to transfer a truck title into her name, owing money to the IRS, paying attorney fees and fines for a vehicular accident she was in, and paying the family of an alleged child she killed in a vehicular accident to avoid going to jail. In total, she admitted to stealing $317,049 from her elderly victim.
Protecting Seniors From Fraud
Keep all confidential information like bank account numbers, Social Security number, PINs, and other financial information out of eyesight of any caregiver or other employee or stranger in a senior’s home. Always monitor a senior loved one’s checking account; take a look at it online every day if you can. Change the address for bank statements to come to your address so that any caregiver at the senior’s home cannot go through their financial mail. Accompany your older loved one if they ever need to go to the bank or attend a business or financial meeting. Keep cash, checks and valuables out of reach of any employee in the home. Never, ever give a caregiver a Power of Attorney, credit card, or a blank check. Stay involved in any senior loved one’s life so a stranger does not have the opportunity for this kind of theft and exploitation.
Contact Us
If you sense any kind of abuse of an older loved one anywhere in the San Francisco Bay Area, 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.
