ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Claims of Fraud And Financial Elder Abuse
Hundreds Of Thousands Paid In Fees
Protecting Older Persons From Fraud
Greedy financial advisors may prey upon an older person’s anxiety about money for the future by offering bogus “opportunities” promising high returns or unsuitable life insurance plans that generate substantial commissions for the advisor. Any wrongful taking of a senior’s money constitutes financial elder abuse by those doing the taking and anyone assisting them. Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 15610.30 (definition of financial elder abuse). 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.
Evans Law Firm, Inc. can represent you if you lose money as a result of financial elder abuse anywhere in the San Francisco Bay Area or throughout California. If you have, call our lawyers today at (415)441-8669. Our toll-free number is 1-888-50EVANS (888-503-8267).
Financial Elder Abuse Lawsuit[1]
A financial advisor and “Real Housewives” TV personality is being sued for financial elder abuse, negligence, fraud and other claims in a lawsuit filed by a 74-year-old woman who was a client of hers. The elder alleges in the suit that she was taken advantage of by the Bravo star and her business partner. Plaintiff claims in court documents that she and her late husband had a combined net worth of $6 million due in part to investments they had made in stocks and funds she inherited from her mother. According to the complaint, when the husband became “seriously injured” in a bicycle accident the wife met defendant at a dinner hosted by her company at which the “Real Housewives of Orange County” alum allegedly took an interest in her fortune. She allegedly promised plaintiff a “safer diversified plan” that would also “help lower the taxes she had been paying” and increase “future/potential financial capital for her children.”
The elder was allegedly then advised by defendants invest in life insurance but they “failed to tell her how much it would cost and instead focused on why it would be a good deal.” The complaint alleges that the life insurance agreement was “intentional, misleading, and false Over the next few years, the complaint alleges that the defendants told the victim she had to pay $300,000 per year to them, which she did. The amount was then reduced to $100,000/year at which point, according to the complaint, plaintiff decided to directly contact the financial services company overseeing her annuity account, and was allegedly told by a representative that “she does not have to send any payment in at all” because she in fact had an “excess” of funds in her account. The excess payments had allegedly been going to defendant as fees.
Protecting Loved Ones From Financial Elder Abuse
Always accompany a senior to any business or financial meetings they may have. Do not let them go alone. Make sure no one has the authority to access their accounts online or by the phone. Constantly monitor all bank and investment accounts. 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. 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.
Contact Us
If you or a loved one has been the victim of financial elder abuse in the San Francisco Bay Area or elsewhere in 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. is not involved in the case in any way.
