ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Sonoma County Therapist and elder abuse
The case is simple: in California, Sonoma County prosecutors charged a therapist and his wife with grand theft and theft from an elder by a caretaker. The therapist from Healdsburg founded Creative Counseling for Elders and Families with the purpose to “help” the elder clients with Alzheimer’s, dementia and other diseases and infirmities.
Actually, he became the co-trustee and co-signatory of an 86-year-old client lady. Apparently, he transferred $26,000 from his client’s account to his personal accounts and used the money to pay taxes and take his family to Mexico. For those reasons, the Judge decided that one condition of his bail is the prohibition to practice.
Finally, we can learn from this lesson that even your therapist could abuse you physically, financially or emotionally. Elder adults may have dementia or mental conditions, they may be more open to suggestion and a personality with a strong power of persuasion as a therapist can take advantage of this situation. Speak to a California elder abuse attorney if you’re worried that someone may be taking advantage of misplaced trust.
Moreover, the therapist has the key to your secrets and fears, and asks you to trust him. To recover, you have to trust him but this trust has its limits. One of these limits is your finances. A therapist should not be involved in your finances, assets, trust or properties; as we say “a place for everything and everything in its place”.
If you know of any elder abuse or fraud, or others, contact the Evans Law Firm at (415) 441-8669, or by email at info@evanslaw.com. Evans Law Firm handles financial and physical elder abuse and nursing home abuse, as well as qui tam and whistleblower cases, healthcare, insurance, annuity, and banking fraud.
