Elder Abuse: Woman Sentenced for Exploiting Seniors ( MS. USA)

Ridgeland woman sentenced for exploiting senior citizens

By staff reports

January 12, 2009

A Ridgeland resident has pled guilty to three counts of a felony indictment for crimes against vulnerable adults, announced Attorney General Jim Hood.

Tamonica A. Scott, age 31, appeared before Judge Winston Kidd in Hinds County Circuit Court today and pleaded guilty to uttering a counterfeit instrument, exploitation of a vulnerable adult and fraudulent use of a credit card number to obtain a thing of value.

Judge Kidd sentenced Scott, on the State's recommendation, to a five year sentence in the custody of the Department of Corrections, one year of which will be served at the restitution center. The other four years of her sentence will be suspended as long as Scott does not violate any conditions. Scott also received two years of supervised probation during which time she is required to fully pay all restitution/fines/investigative costs/court costs.

Scott's case involved two victims, the first of which was a patient at St. Dominic's Hospital where Scott worked as a nurses aid. Scott, who provided help to the victim, took a check from the purse of the victim, made it out to herself in the amount of $310. She then used the account number from the face of the check to make approximately eight telephonic payments to HCBC Card Services and Capital One toward her account balances. Her actions resulted in overdrafts on the victims' bank account of approximately $132. In total, Scott's actions resulted in loss to the victim in the amount of approximately $2,030. In the second case, the victim was receiving home health services from Scott who took the victim's credit card and ran up charges of nearly $5,000.

"Ms. Scott was given the duty to care for these seniors and instead she took advantage of them and stole their money, said Attorney General Jim Hood. "Now it is her turn to pay."

Scott was ordered to pay full restitution in the amount of $7,303.82 in addition to a $5,000 fine, $500 to the Victim Compensation Fund, $500 for investigative costs, and court costs. 

This case was investigated and prosecuted by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Attorney General's Office.

SOURCE:    Madison County Herald

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Elder Abuse Support Group Holds Initial Meeting (MN. USA)

January 13, 2009

A support group for elderly people who have suffered abuse or neglect at nursing homes or their family members will hold its first meeting this Thursday.

Called Families Against Nursing Home Abuse, the group is “coming together not only for emotional support, but to utilize this opportunity to turn a bad situation into a good outcome,” according to a news release.

The group hopes to ensure abuse and neglect situations are avoided and to make changes to local, state and national policies and procedures for elder care.

“We will stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves,” the news release states.

The meeting is at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Plaza Morena Restaurant at Northbridge Mall in Albert Lea. People with questions can reach Jan Reshetar at (507) 402-4749 or Myrna Sorensen at (507) 383-6963.

SOURCE:   Albert Lea Tribune

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Elder Abuse: Woman Suspected in Abuse of Elderly Patient (AL. USA)

Jefferson County authorities seek woman suspected in abuse of elderly patient

by Carol Robinson -- Birmingham News 

January 12, 2009

 Jefferson County sheriff's deputies are searching for a certified nursing assistant charged with stealing the identity of a 98-year-old patient.

Special Jacqueline Anne Lumpkin, sought by Jefferson County sheriff''s deputies.

Authorities say Jacqueline Anne Lumpkin, 48, took personal information from a nursing home patient and rang up more than $5,000 in goods and services.

Lumpkin, of east Birmingham, was employed by a temporary work agency that had placed her in the nursing home, said sheriff's spokesman Lt. Randy Christian. Investigators didn't release the name of the nursing home.

Lumpkin is charged with elder abuse/neglect, identity theft, and fraudulent use of a credit card. Her bond is set at $45,000.

Authorities are trying to determine if there are additional victims, Christian said.

Anyone who knows of Lumpkin's whereabouts is asked to call the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office at 325-1450 or Crimestoppers at 254-7777. 

SOURCE:   The Birmingham News (AL. USA)

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Elder Abuse: Former Nursing Home Employee Arrested (GA. USA)

Former Nursing Home Employee Arrested

Jan 13, 2009 

By Don Logana

THUNDERBOLT, GA (WTOC) –

A former nursing home employee is in jail tonight charged with elder abuse and stealing the identities of as many as 40 residents from nursing homes in the area.

Thunderbolt police say Tamara Smith used her job as a certified nursing assistant to gain access to patients personal information.

She is accused of using the information of 43 former and current nursing home residents, half of them from Tara Nursing Home on Falligant Avenue in Thunderbolt to buy computers, cell phones, and open credit cards. The victims range in age from 60 to as old as 100.

For every victim over the age of 65, Smith is being charged an additional count of elder abuse. Thunderbolt police chief Irene Pennington says this is the largest case of identity theft she has ever seen.

"You wonder how someone can do this to people in nursing homes who have nothing at that point in their life anyway," said Thunderbolt police chief Irene Pennington. "She had been getting away with it, but it took good investigations to catch up with her."

The investigation started 15 months ago after a single complaint to police from one resident's family. It snowballed from there, police chief Pennington says the number of victims continues to grow and more arrests are expected.

SOURCE:    WTOCTV

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Attorneys Can Countersue on Allegations of Financial Elder Abuse (CA. USA)

Suit against late comic Bishop's companion can proceed

Lawyers for Joey Bishop say former live-in companion exploited his ill health to get multimillion-dollar Newport home.

By DEEPA BHARATH

THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

January 12, 2009

 Late Newport Beach resident Joey Bishop's live-in companion, who was with him for his final eight years, lost a round in court today after a judge tentatively ruled that one of Bishop's former attorneys can countersue the woman on allegations of financial elder abuse.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ralph W. Dau said he will consider attorney Ed Gregory Hookstratten's motion before issuing a final decision on the matter, but has not said when he will make that determination.

Nora Garibotti, who lived with Bishop in his Newport Beach home for the last eight years of the comedian's life, filed a lawsuit May 8 alleging legal malpractice by former Bishop lawyers Hookstratten and James E. McCormick. She accused the lawyers of not handling Bishop's trust in accordance with his wishes. Garibotti said she was entitled to cash and the multimillion-dollar Newport Beach home where she lived with the comic since 1999, after his wife died. Bishop died in October 2007 at age 89.

The proposed countersuit alleges that Garibotti in July 2007 directed Bishop to write two notes leaving his Newport Beach home and $60,000 in cash to her at a time when he was ailing and struggling with severe dementia.

"These handwritten notes were the direct result of undue influence exercised by the caregiver, Garibotti, on the severely demented and incompetent Joey and therefore constitute financial elder abuse," court papers state.

 

Abridged

SOURCE:     Orange County Register

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Elder Abuse: Conference to Explore Ways to Keep Vulnerable Adults Safe (UK)

Charity hosts event to explore ways to keep vulnerable adults safe

by Hannah Wooderson for 24dash.com in Communities 
12th January 2009

 An event that will discuss ways to keep vulnerable adults and older people safe is being held in London today.

Hosted by Action on Elder Abuse (AEA), a charity dealing with the abuse of older people, the conference will examine issues relating to adult protection legislation and other legislation, such as The Mental Capacity Act and Human Rights Act.

It is being held to tie in with a consultation on No Secrets, the Government's guide to safeguarding adults.

Gary FitzGerald, chief executive of Action on Elder Abuse, said: "Adults at risk of abuse do not want to be treated differently.

"They want, and should be entitled to, the same safeguards that we afford to children, victims of domestic violence and even animals.

"Crucially, this conference will look at how we can empower individuals whilst affording them the appropriate level of protection to prevent them from unwanted harm or abuse."

The conference is taking place at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, Regent's Wharf, All Saints Street, Islington, London, N1 9RL.

Abridged

SOURCE:    24Dash.Com

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Apex Man Accused of Assaulting Elderly Mother (AZ. USA)

Apex man accused of assaulting elderly mother

Posted: January, 2009

·         Reporter: Amanda Lamb

·         Photographer: Edward Wilson

·         Web Editor: Kelly Gardner

APEX, N.C. — Police have charged an Apex man in connection with allegations that he assaulted his 87-year-old mother.
Samuel Ray Topps, 56, of 502 E. Chatham St., was arrested Jan. 7 on one count of assault inflicting serious bodily injury, which is a felony.

 

WATCH VIDEO
Fear keeps elderly from reporting abuse

Apex police said his mother, Doris Topps, was treated and released from a local hospital following a Dec. 24 call to 911 in which she reported that she had fallen.

Her pastor then contacted the North Carolina Division of Aging and Adult Services after she had told him and friends that her son had pushed her.

Upon further investigation and questioning, police learned Samuel Topps allegedly pushed his mother multiple times during a fight.

At the time of his arrest, Topps lived with his mother. She is now in a rehabilitation facility, and he was in the Wake County jail Monday under a $30,000 bond.

Copyright 2009 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved

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SOURCE:  WRAL

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Victims of Elder Abuse Have Numbers to Call (Canada)

Victims of Elder Abuse Have Numbers to Call

Written by SCOTT STANFIELD

CITIZEN STAFF

10 January 2009

The topic of elder abuse is a growing concern with each passing day as those in the 65-and-over age group comprise one of the largest growing segments of the population. 
According to statistics, about 61,000 senior citizens in B.C. -- about one out of 12 elderly people -- experience abuse from a family member, caregiver or someone else on whom they rely. The figures, however, only represent the reported cases, and do not take into account the other 80 per cent of hidden or undetected cases.

Abuse is defined as actions that harm an older person, or that jeopardize an older person's health and welfare. It comes in different forms, including theft, fraud, physical assault and financial, the latter of which is the most common.

"Financial abuse often ties in with other kinds of abuse or neglect," said Mary MacDonald, a social worker with Home and Community Care at Northern Health. 
All types of abuse are considered crimes under the Criminal Code of Canada. The problem, however, is that authorities cannot prosecute an abuser without any physical evidence.

"A lot of abuse that I've encountered is not necessarily even a criminal offence, it's not to that level, but there's some wrongful action afoot that's having a detrimental result on the senior in question," MacDonald said, noting some seniors may not be aware of their fundamental rights as human beings. But even if an understanding is in place, there may only be "limited ways to exercise those rights."

Victims often deny the existence of a possible abusive situation for fear of retaliation, or they might tolerate a certain level of mistreatment because they depend on a caregiver for grocery delivery or other tasks.

Anyone with concerns about elder abuse are encouraged to call Northern Health's adult protection line at 565-7414. Other options are the Prince George Council of Seniors information line at 564-9100, or the Prince George RCMP.

Further information about senior's rights is available at the B.C. Centre for Elder Advocacy and Support at 1-866-437-1940, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Friday. Otherwise, call Victim Link at 1-800-563-0808. 

Abridged

SOURCE:   Prince George Citizen

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Crimes Against Elderly: 91 Year-Old Victim Tasered Before She Died (CA. USA)

Police say Dublin homicide victim, 91, was Tasered before she died

By By Sophia Kazmi

Bay Area News Group

01/10/2009

Dublin police say a 91-year-old homicide victim, whose body was dumped into her own trash can, was choked, hit over the head and Tasered before she died.

But which injury caused the death of Selma "Sally" Hill has not yet been determined by the coroner, said Dublin police Lt. Glenn Moon.

Hill may have been the bystander in a bizarre custody dispute over her 2-year-old great granddaughter, police say.

The estranged wife of Hill's grandson, and the wife's parents have all been arrested. Rosa Hill, 33, of Oakland and Mei Li, 55, and Ping Li, 67, both of Antioch, were arrested on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and conspiracy. They are expected to be arraigned Monday in Pleasanton.

The dead woman's grandson, Eric Hill, 37, told police he and his daughter came home shortly before 6 p.m. Wednesday. He said he went upstairs to check on his grandmother when he was surprised and attacked by his estranged wife, Rosa Hill, and her mother, Mei Li.

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SOURCE:  Mercury News

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Suspects Arrested in Scams of Elderly (MO. USA)

January 09, 2009 NEOSHO, Mo. — Marty W. Rickey, alleged home invader and swindler of the elderly, is back in the Newton County Jail on fresh charges of running the same old game.

By Jeff Lehr

NEOSHO, Mo. — Marty W. Rickey, alleged home invader and swindler of the elderly, is back in the Newton County Jail on fresh charges of running the same old game.

Newton County Sheriff Ken Copeland said investigators in his department believed Rickey, 33, of rural Seneca, to still be in custody in Kansas, where he was sent after being acquitted by a jury in November of charges related to a three-state crime spree in 2005 involving his brother and another man.

But when a report surfaced Thursday of a 72-year-old man who got into a scrape inside his home on Goldfinch Road with a younger man trying to squeeze money out of him for phony roof repairs, the scam seemed all too familiar. Copeland said his department checked with the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department and learned Rickey was no longer in jail there.

A man falsely claiming to be with Tamko Roofing went to the door of the man on Goldfinch Road and tried to get him to pay for repairs to his roof, Copeland said. When the man refused, the would-be swindler hit him in the face with his fist and the two began wrestling inside the house, the sheriff said.

The younger man claimed to have a gun and threatened to use it on the older man when the older man gained a hold on him. That caused the older man to let go and run to another room to grab his rifle, the sheriff said. The home invader then fled the house. The sheriff said a second suspect was believed to have been waiting outside in a pickup truck, and the two drove off.

“A photo lineup of possible suspects was shown to the victim, and he picked out a photo of Marty Rickey as being the assailant,” Copeland said.

In the meantime, Joplin police had been developing their own case against Rickey in connection with the attempted swindle of an 85-year-old woman on the south side of town a little more than a week previously. The Newton County prosecutor filed a charge of financial exploitation of the elderly in that case against Rickey on Wednesday and an arrest warrant was issued. But he hadn’t been picked up yet.

A probable-cause affidavit states that Rickey on Dec. 30 contacted the woman on Grand Avenue and told her that her roof needed fixing. He asked her for a check for $2,120, the affidavit states.

The affidavit states that the woman also identified Rickey in a photo lineup.

James Rickey and Gaston were convicted of both home invasions in Newton County and assessed prison sentences. But the Newton County prosecutor’s case against Marty Rickey was complicated by the death of one of the victims before she’d been deposed for the purpose of trial testimony, and James Rickey’s claim that Gaston was lying when he testified for the state that Marty Rickey was with them.

Marty Rickey was charged in Cherokee County, Kan., with kidnapping, aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary and misdemeanor theft a year ago while out on bond. Following his acquittal in Missouri, he was transferred to Kansas on those charges.

But the Globe was unable to determine late Friday if he had posted bond on the charges or if the charges in Kansas had been dropped.

Abridged

SOURCE:   Joplin Globe

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