Elder Justice: Communities Are Focusing on The Abuse, Fraud, Neglect, and Schemes Perpetrated Against Older Individuals

FraudsWatch.com

<h2>Message from U&period;S&period; Attorney Ron Parsons for World Elder Abuse Awareness Day<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p>June 15&comma; 2018&comma; is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day&period;  Communities around the world are focusing on the abuse&comma; fraud&comma; neglect&comma; and schemes perpetrated against older individuals&period;  As South Dakota’s United States Attorney&comma; I take very seriously the role of our office in protecting older South Dakotans&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>In 2017&comma; Congress passed the Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act&period;  Among other things&comma; this law enabled the Attorney General of the United States to allocate resources to federal investigations and prosecutions of crimes against older Americans&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>In the District of South Dakota&comma; I have designated Kevin Koliner&comma; an experienced prosecutor&comma; to serve as my office’s Elder Justice Coordinator&period;  Kevin is responsible for prosecuting elder abuse cases&comma; coordinating with state and tribal partners&comma; and conducting public outreach and awareness activities relating to elder abuse&period;  On a national level&comma; the Department of Justice has convened a large working group to ensure that federal law enforcement stays ahead of the criminals&comma; with access to current trends and information necessary to fulfill our duty of protecting older Americans&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Our focused efforts have already seen results&period;  Here in South Dakota&comma; our office has prosecuted a large-scale wire fraud case in which an older South Dakotan was targeted in a scam that involved gaining access to his investment account&comma; then forging check requests to deplete the funds&period;  In a separate case involving thousands of elderly victims&comma; three co-defendants were recently sentenced to considerable time in federal prison after a decades-long scheme in which they peddled a supposed cure-all medical device&comma; enticing vulnerable customers with false claims of scientific studies&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>My office is also proud to partner with state and tribal law enforcement on these issues&comma; working together to determine the best forum for ensuring justice for victims of these crimes&period;  For instance&comma; some matters are best pursued federally because they involve fraud on federal programs or they require interstate or international investigations&period;  Other elder abuse cases might be best pursued by state authorities&comma; perhaps if they are more local in nature&comma; such as crimes perpetrated by direct caregivers or family members&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>This partnership model has been a great success&period;  Nationwide&comma; the Department of Justice in partnerships between U&period;S&period; Attorneys&comma; federal&comma; state&comma; and tribal law enforcement agencies&comma; state attorney generals&comma; and state prosecutors have over the past year brought elder abuse cases involving over 250 defendants&comma; &dollar;600 million in victim losses&comma; and involving over one million victims from every state&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>As we mark World Elder Abuse Awareness Day&comma; I want to share with you some practical advice regarding warning signs of potential elder abuse&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><strong><u>Examples of <a class&equals;"wpil&lowbar;keyword&lowbar;link" href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;fraudswatch&period;com&sol;tag&sol;financial-fraud&sol;" title&equals;"financial" data-wpil-keyword-link&equals;"linked" data-wpil-monitor-id&equals;"854">financial<&sol;a> exploitation include&colon;<&sol;u><&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;<ul>&NewLine;<li>Use of ATM or credit cards without permission<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li>Forging signatures on checks or important documents<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li>Requests to older adults for money to cover &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;emergency” expenses<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li>Pressure to grant power of attorney rights<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li>Unauthorized sales&comma; such as family heirlooms<&sol;li>&NewLine;<&sol;ul>&NewLine;<p><strong><u>Signs that your loved one might be a victim of financial exploitation&colon;<&sol;u><&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;<ul>&NewLine;<li>Sudden changes in banking practices<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li>Being accompanied to important appointments by unknown person<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li>Adding new names on bank signature cards<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li>Sudden changes in wills or other important documents<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li>Unexplained disappearance of funds or possessions<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li>Substandard personal care<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li>Unpaid bills when financials resources should be adequate<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li>Sudden appearance of previously uninvolved relatives<&sol;li>&NewLine;<&sol;ul>&NewLine;<p><strong><u>Steps to protect yourself&colon;<&sol;u><&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;<ul>&NewLine;<li>Check financial statements regularly &lpar;at least monthly&rpar;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li>Store important documents in a locked drawer<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li>Talk to your bank about age-friendly banking options<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li>Contact an attorney with any legal questions&comma; and be assured you understand their advice before proceeding<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li>Visit ftc&period;gov every year to get free credit reports&comma; then review those reports thoroughly<&sol;li>&NewLine;<&sol;ul>&NewLine;<p>For more information about the Department of Justice’s efforts to prevent and combat elder abuse&comma; please visit the Elder Justice Website at <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;justice&period;gov&sol;elderjustice">elderjustice&period;gov<&sol;a>&period;  There is also a victim connect hotline&comma; 1-855-4VICTIM &lpar;1-855-484-2846&rpar;&comma; where you can receive service referrals by senior services specialists&period;  Finally&comma; if you believe you or your loved one is a victim of physical or sexual abuse&comma; do not hesitate to contact local police immediately&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;justice&period;gov&sol;usao-sd&sol;pr&sol;message-us-attorney-ron-parsons-world-elder-abuse-awareness-day">Original PressReleases&&num;8230&semi;<&sol;a><&sol;p>&NewLine;

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