Brown gets elder protection bill
09/02/2011
When Liz Sanders discovered her mother was fleeced of her life savings two years ago, the Woodland Hills woman was motivated to get justice for more than just her family.
She wanted to stop the same thing from happening to others. It took a lot of phone calls to a lot of politicians, but this week Sanders saw her efforts come to fruition, with the state Legislature passing a bill to crack down on the kind of elderly abuse and fraud that victimized her mother.
Senate Bill 586 by Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills, will double the penalties for elder and dependent adult abuse. It would also impose new regulations for the issuance of signature stamps by a state-organized bank or credit unions.
Sanders said she hopes her effort will protect seniors from being taken advantage of as her mother was.
"If you don't have the absolute tenacity of a pit bull, you're not going to get anywhere," she said. "I need to get this done."
Sanders' mother, Bette Isenberg of Westwood, was bedridden for multiple health issues in 2009. The elderly woman needed constant medical attention and depended on her in-home care giver, Helen Wofford, to watch after her.
But Wofford ended up siphoning more than $750,000 from Isenberg's savings and assets, running up tens of thousands of dollars with Isenberg's department store credit cards and buying herself a Mercedes.
By May 2010, Wofford pleaded guilty to grand theft and was sentenced to 32 months in prison.
Sanders said the caregiver was able to drain her mother's accounts by using a signature stamp. Banks issue signature stamps to elderly or disabled adults who are unable to physically sign forms or get into a banking branch.
"With a stamp in the wrong hands, you can end up wiped out," Sanders said.
After her mother died in August 2010, Sanders decided to help change the law so other families could be protected from signature stamp abuse.
"I basically called everybody from Obama down," she said. "I'm one person, one voice and I'm screaming here."
Pavley heard her.
"The physical and financial abuse of elder and dependent adults is an insidious and growing problem in California," Pavley said in a statement. "When Ms. Sanders called my office and explained what happened to her mother, it just made sense to pursue legislation."
Pavley's bill was sponsored by AARP and the California Senior Legislature. The Senate passed it Tuesday on a 25-13 vote, sending it to Gov. Jerry Brown's desk. The Governor's Office said he has not decided yet whether to sign it.
"Elder abuse is prevalent and caretakers are one of the common suspected abusers," said Gina Satriano, deputy in charge of the elder abuse section of the Los Angeles County District's Attorney's Office.
"We are hopeful that (the bill) will help protect elders as well as protect them from abuse by having regulations. And if abusers are able to get around the regulations, hopefully there will be more scrutiny."
SOURCE: The Contra Costa Times
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