Pamela Case / For the Tracy Press / Saturday, 17 November 2007
Folks are living longer than ever, so it is not surprising society is catering to seniors. There are products especially for elders (if you watch television, you know what they are), entertainment especially for elders, magazines about the olden days and a powerful lobbying group. There are even laws especially for elders to discourage would-be criminals from victimizing seniors.
Elder abuse covers physical, emotion or financial abuse. It can be a felony with jail time for the perpetrator. The state has been aggressively going after those who would victimize our seniors.
Last year alone, the attorney general’s office reported filing 108 criminal complaints of elder abuse and had 60 convictions. It has recovered $4.8 million in restitution and fines.
Seniors’ money is always a temptation. Last month, a state appellate court upheld the elder abuse conviction of two investment advisers who targeted elders. These advisers offered free estate reviews to discover the elder’s net worth and then would approach the client to invest in speculative ventures, lying to and bullying them if necessary. A dozen or so seniors lost more than $1 million. The abusers are facing 12 to 17 years in prison. (my emphasis)
In another case, an abuser began insinuating himself into the life of an emotionally dependent man, eventually taking over his financial affairs. He convinced the elderly man to put him on the checking account, and withdrew, over five years, more than $600,000. When the victim balked at paying more money, the abuser would intimidate him into signing the checks. Finally, the abuser convinced his elderly victim to make him sole heir to his estate. That court case is still pending.
In a similar case, a volunteer caregiver took some $60,000 from an elderly woman and convinced her to make him the sole heir. He had to hunt for an estate planner, because at least one attorney had refused to do it on the grounds she was no longer mentally competent to make such decisions.
Abridge Text: SOURCE
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