ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Cash And Jewelry Disappear From Elder’s Home
Missing Jewelry Identified At Pawn Shop
Two Caregivers Allegedly Worked Together In Stealing
In-home caregivers usually work in shifts, particularly if an older or dependent adult needs round the clock care. Unscrupulous caregivers working in shifts may work together in stealing cash and property from a senior and cover up one another’s activities. Theft of course is a crime and any act of financial elder abuse is itself is both a crime and a basis for civil liability against the person who took the property. 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. Penal Code § 368; Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 15610.30(a)(1) and (2). Financial elder abuse is broadly defined under California law to include those persons who take a senior’s property or assist in that taking:
(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.
If you or a loved one has been the victim of financial elder abuse in Santa Clara County 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).
Two Caregivers Arrested For Theft From The Same Elder
In one recently reported case,[1] two caregivers were arrested for stealing money, jewelry, and other property from a single elder patient. When the victim discovered cash and property missing from his home, he reported the circumstance to the police. He informed the police that he had been using a caregiver service to assist him in his home. Authorities determined that some of the missing property had been pawned at several pawn shops near the senior’s home. Further investigation revealed that two individual caregivers placed in the senior’s home by the agency were the individuals who had pawned the property. Authorities arrested the two individuals who are awaiting trial.
Preventing Elder Financial Abuse And Theft
Any senior who has strangers working in his or her home as caregivers or any other kind of work is vulnerable to this kind of theft. If your older loved one has in-home assistance of any kind make sure their jewelry, cash and other valuables are in a safe place away from reach. 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. The best way to do that is to remove all such papers from the senior’s home. Never, ever grant a power of attorney to a caregiver. Visit your older loved one as regularly as you can to see firsthand how they are doing. Accompany older loved ones whenever they go shopping or go to the bank or have any sort of meeting about financial matters. You can be there to protect them from outright theft and the problems they may get into if they are sold an unsuitable investment or insurance product like an annuity. Perhaps 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 Santa Clara County and throughout 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.
