ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Credit Card Use Captures On Camera
Resident Checkbooks Found At Caregiver’s Home
Facility Reported Suspicious Activity
When the victim of any theft is over 65 that theft also constitutes criminal financial elder abuse and grounds for civil liability against the person who took the property. Penal Code § 368; Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 15610.30(a). Anyone assisting in financial elder abuse, even if another person is the one who physically takes the elder’s property, also commits financial elder abuse and is responsible for the property taken. Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 15610.30(a)(2). All seniors are at risk of financial elder abuse, whether living at home or in a nursing home or memory care or assisted living facility. While there is no absolute way to protect seniors from this kind of abuse, there are certain important steps seniors and their loved ones can take, discussed below, which will go a long way in protecting them. If you or a loved one has been the victim of financial elder abuse by a caregiver or other person in San Mateo County or elsewhere in California, call us today at (415)441-8669. We will pursue all persons responsible for a senior’s injury and pursue all available remedies which include recovery of attorneys’ fees and expenses incurred in bringing a case to get the injured senior’s money or property back. Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 15657.5. Our toll-free number is 1-888-50EVANS (888-503-8267).
Caregivers Arrested For Theft From Facility Patients
In one recently reported case,[1] a caregiver at an assisted care facility has been arrested charges of elder abuse for allegedly stealing credit cards from two of its residents and cashing a check from a dead resident’s bank account. Surveillance footage showed the arrested caregiver using credit cards she allegedly stole from residents at the facility to make purchases at a retail store, according to sheriff’s office reports. After she used the cards she told police she threw them in the garbage. Deputies executed a search warrant at the caregiver’s residence where they allegedly found checkbooks belonging to another facility resident, who had recently died. Receipts recovered in the investigation showed that the caregiver allegedly wrote a $2,000 check to herself from the resident’s account, after the resident had died, according to sheriff’s office reports. Other receipts recovered in the investigation show that the caregiver also used the dead resident’s account to purchase more than $1,600 in items from another retailer, according to sheriff’s reports.
Preventing Elder Financial Abuse And Theft
Any senior, like all three victims in the reported case, is vulnerable to theft even in a facility paid to care for the person. Whether your older loved one lives in a nursing home or assisted care facility or has in-home assistance of any kind make sure their credit and debit cards, jewelry, cash and other valuables are in a safe place away from reach. Also keep their checkbook under lock and key and never give a blank check to anyone for any reason. If a senior has any credit or debit cards that they never use, destroy them and alert the relevant bank or credit card company that the card is discontinued. Never give a caregiver a credit card or ATM card to shop or get cash for a senior. Keep financial information, bank account numbers and Social Security numbers away from a caregiver’s or other stranger’s glance. Never, ever grant a power of attorney to a caregiver or facility staff member. Visit your older loved one as regularly as you can to see firsthand how they are doing and find out what is going on with them as the friend did in the reported cash. Most important of all, if you suspect anything wrong, do something about it right away.
Contact Us
Ingrid M. Evans represents elder and dependent adults in San Mateo County or elsewhere in California who are victims of any kind of financial exploitation or other abuse. Ingrid can be reached at (415) 441-8669 or TOLL FREE 1-888-80EVANS (888-503-8267), or email us at <a href=”mailto:info@evanslaw.com”>info@evanslaw.com</a>.
[1] Evans Law Firm, Inc. was not involved in the reported case in any way.
