Reporting of Financial Abuse

Theft of Elder Nation: An editorial series from Contra Costa Times

THE $23,095.58 WIRE transfer from Jack Whittaker's savings account at the Antioch Schools Federal Credit Union was the first sign something was fishy.

A day after the money had left his account, the 82-year-old widower went in to the credit union to make a withdrawal. He was shocked to learn that his account was nearly empty. The money he thought was there had gone to purchase an annuity he knew nothing about.
After that, credit union CEO Rob Greaff and his staff started keeping a close eye on the World War II veteran's account.
According to Lynn Uikema, Contra Costa deputy district attorney, the credit union's vigilance foiled an ex-felon's elaborate scheme to steal everything that Whittaker owned.
Thanks to alert employees, Uilkema was able to put Joe Gonzales where he belongs - in prison, serving a 10-year sentence for elder theft.
Gonzales had "befriended" Whittaker at Pinky's Car Wash in Antioch. Gonzales was washing cars. The senior, who lived alone and had no family nearby, was a regular customer.
In a little more than a year, Gonzales had drained four of Whittaker's bank accounts and run through more than $100,000 of the senior's savings.
There was $50,000 for a down payment on a half-million dollar house; more than $20,000 to buy new furniture; thousands more to pay off his truck and fix up his wife's Cadillac; $20,000 for a 14-day Hawaiian cruise.
Gonzales had convinced Whittaker to set up a trust naming him sole beneficiary. He stood to inherit the elderly man's $400,000 home and more than $200,000 in annuities that he'd gotten him to buy from a shady cohort.
It's because of shameless predators like Gonzales that the state Legislature passed the Financial Elder Abuse Reporting Act, which went into effect in January.
It requires all employees of financial institutions - banks, credit unions and savings and loans - to contact the police department or Adult Protective Services if they suspect that an elderly person is a victim of financial abuse.
Those who fail to do so face fines of up to $5,000.

Financial institution employees now join other so-called mandated reporters who often come into contact with elderly people and are in a position to detect hidden abuse.
They include health care workers, state and county employees, nursing home staff, clergy, and law enforcement.

Our financial institutions are an important early warning system for detecting elder abuse. Their employees can spot unusual activity on an elderly customer's account, such as a $150,000 wire transfer going to a foreign lottery, or a $135,000 check written to an accountant for a bogus tax bill.

California law makes it easy for financial institution employees to do the right thing. They don't even have to worry about getting in trouble if they make an honest mistake. They can't be prosecuted unless they knowingly make a false claim.

Since January, law enforcement agencies throughout the state have been deluged with invaluable tips from financial institutions. We believe state lawmakers should look at expanding the list of mandatory reporters.

It's a shame that we even need a law to compel people to do what is so clearly the moral thing to do.

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