ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Caregiver Allegedly Stole Rare Coins And Collectibles
Family Noticed Missing Items
Caregiver Allegedly Taunted Elderly Couple About Missing Items
Whenever a paid caregiver or a stranger is in the home of the elderly, there is a risk of theft and financial abuse. Often the theft is of cash and credit cards or checks. But valuable collectibles, rare coins, jewelry, silver and other keepsakes may also disappear. Whether the theft is of cash or property it is an act of financial elder abuse. Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 15610.30(a)(1). Anyone who assists in the taking of cash or property also commits financial elder abuse. Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 15610.30(a)(2). All persons responsible for the financial elder abuse may be held accountable, including the agency that placed the unscrupulous caregiver in the home, and supervisors, administrators and owners of the agency under certain circumstances. If you or a loved one has been the victim of financial elder abuse in San Mateo County, San Francisco or anywhere in the Bay Area or throughout California, call us today at (415)441-8669. We will pursue all persons responsible for a senior’s injury. Our toll-free number is 1-888-50EVANS (888-503-8267).
Caregiver Stole $450,000 In Collectibles And Family Suing Agency
In one recent case,[1] after a caregiver pleaded guilty to a felony theft charge pertaining to stealing collectibles, tools, and rare coins valued at nearly $450,000, the victim’s family is now suing the caregiver’s agency for the value of the items taken that they never got back. The individual caregiver was sentenced last year after police investigation showed that she had stolen items ranging from tools to rare coins from an elderly couple who had hired the caregiver through a local home health care agency. The husband of the couple required extra assistance around the home during his final years as he battled Alzheimer’s. The couple’s daughter said that after the caregiver came into her parent’s home, her mom and dad started ‘losing’ items around the house, and that the caregiver would taunt them saying that their memory must be bad since they kept losing things. In fact, according to the family and police, the “missing” things were items stolen by the caregiver. Following resolution of the criminal suit, the family is now suing the agency that placed the caregiver in the elderly couple’s home for the value of the property stolen. According to the civil complaint, the agency had previous reports of the caregiver stealing property from other clients.
Protecting Older Loved Ones
Before you use any home health care agency, check their track record and license through the California Department of Health and Human Services. When the agency assigns a caregiver, check them out too and ask for references. As the reported case illustrates agencies often keep aides on even knowing they may have stolen from clients. Keep jewelry and valuable possessions in a safe place. Take photographs of each room of the house so you can detect anything missing from the way the rooms used to be. Have financial statements mailed to your own address so others do not have access to you loved one’s business mail. Never, ever grant a power of attorney to a caregiver or nursing home staff member. Do not allow a caregiver to take a credit card to go shopping or an ATM card to go get a senior some cash; you’re only asking for trouble if you do. Perhaps most important of all, if you suspect anything wrong, do something about it right away.
Contact Us
If you suspect financial elder abuse of a loved one, friend or neighbor in San Mateo County, San Francisco, or elsewhere in California, call Ingrid M. Evans at Evans Law Firm, Inc. at (415) 441-8669, or by email at info@evanslaw.com. Our toll-free number is 1-888-50EVANS (888-503-8267). Ingrid pursues all available remedies for families and injured seniors against those responsible, including an award of attorneys’ fees and costs for the victim or his or her family. Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 15657.5.
[1] Evans Law Firm, Inc. is not involved in the case in any way.
