Respect your elders – and their pocketbooks

Elder financial abuse might be "the crime of the 21st Century"

A man in his 70s gets some mail that says he won a sweepstakes worth millions of dollars. He just has to send off a few thousand dollars to claim his prize.

A woman in her 80s often walks into a bank with a shifty, quiet person. She takes out a couple hundred dollars at a time.

Time passes. Their bank accounts are almost empty.

Those are just two common examples of financial abuse of seniors. It’s a growing problem. Some people call it “The crime of the 21st century.”

Reports state up to 200,000 seniors in California suffer financial abuse. Most instances are not reported.

There is no easy way to stop elder financial abuse. But the County of Los Angeles Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) is taking up the fight.

DCA staff members are learning more about this problem. And they’re sharing their lessons with the County’s senior community.

“I present a challenge to you,” DCA Supervising Chief Investigator Rigoberto Reyes said to a group of seniors at a recent DCA-sponsored event, “to pass on this information.”

A Call to Action

DCA staff member Sherry Samani recently went to San Francisco for a one-day conference by the Elder Financial Protection Network. The conference, called “Confronting Elder Financial Abuse,” featured experts in law, finance, law enforcement and social work.

Peggy L. Osborn, who runs an adult abuse prevention program through the California Attorney General’s office, said knowledge of elder abuse is “about 25 years behind child abuse” and other high-profile crimes.

“Society’s denial of the scope of this problem is very, very real,” Osborn said.

Robert Mooney, Acting Deputy Director of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), said only about 1 in every 100 cases of elder abuse in California gets reported.

Putting FEAR into Crooks

Speakers said working together is critical in fighting elder financial abuse.

For example, banks and their front-line workers now must take an active role in reporting suspected financial abuse.

On January 1, 2007, California’s Senate Bill 1018 – the Financial Elder Abuse Reporting Act of 2005 (FEAR Act) went into effect.

The FEAR Act states all employees of financial institutions must report suspected financial abuse of the elderly and dependent. If that employee willfully fails to report suspected abuse, the institution could be fined up to $1,000 or $5,000.

Education is the Key

Fighting this problem takes more than just bank tellers. It’s important to educate seniors before they become victims. DCA is working to do just that.

DCA and the office of County Supervisor Yvonne B. Burke (2nd District) co-sponsored the recent Smarter Senior Forum. About 100 seniors attended the event at the Theresa Lindsay Senior Center in Los Angeles.

“Our seniors are really the ones at risk,” said Bill Thomas, the center’s director. “This is the perfect message for the perfect group.”

DCA staff members Reyes, Joe Johnson and Maggie Becerra were part of a panel of speakers. Topics included real estate fraud, payday loans and identity theft. Written materials also were handed out.

“I liked all the speeches,” said John Pierce, a senior in attendance, “and all the literature, so when I have time I can go through it more.”

Also speaking were representatives from:

• Department of Community and Senior Services – Adult Protective Services
• Los Angeles County Treasurer – Tax Collector
• Los Angeles County Bar Association – Elder Law Committee
• Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health – Office of the Public Guardian
• California Department of Insurance
• California Department of Corporations

We Can Help You

The Department of Consumer Affairs can investigate cases of senior financial abuse. DCA holds many senior-related speaking engagements throughout the year. DCA also provides information to the public through a 24-hour telephone service, written publications and on the Internet at dca.lacounty.gov.