OHIO ELDER LAW BLAWG

Micky Rooney: the tip of the iceberg in elder abuse and exploitation

Micky Rooney recently testified at a congressional hearing regarding his own experience with abuse and exploitation of the elderly.

Rooney testified that he felt trapped and scared.  For years, he said he was controlled by a stepchild who took his identification, awards, and took control of his finances.  Rooney waited several years to act, feeling like he was a prisoner.  Finally he sought legal intervention when he obtained a restraining order over his alleged abuser. (CNN story)

This problem is not necessarily rare.  With the downturn in the economy, children who are not making ends meet because of their own financial problems are relying on parents for financial assistance.  Sometimes those needs take over the relationship and sometimes the relationship becomes physically abusive.

A recent national study showed that about 14% of older americans were neglected, abused, or exploited.

In one case our firm worked on, a caregiver working for a home health care agency worked for an elderly woman who began to rely on the caregiver.  Exploiting the elderly woman's dependence on her, the caregiver got a power of attorney from the elderly woman, and used hundreds of thousands of the client's funds for herself and friends.  A concerned child living out of town alerted attorneys and the police. An intervention occurred, and we filed suit to recover the funds from the caregiver and the agency. The woman was sent to prison and funds were recovered from the home health agency after a suit was filed.

Financial abuse can be overt or subtle.  When subtle, the elderly person may think that he or she is being nice by providing funds to someone who is in need.  When a closer look is taken, the transaction involves an abuse of the relationship.  Often the elderly person is dependent on the person exploiting the elder, and the power in that relationship creates the opportunity for abuse.  Sometimes it is not about money, but about mental or actual physical abuse, or neglect of a loved one.   

Unfortunately in our current political climate, funding for protecting vulnerable elderly is limited, and often falling.  Sentaor Herb Kohl of Wisconsin sponsored a bill that will create an office on elder justice.  The hope is that the office would tighten standards for reporting and defining elder abuse, coordinate the patchwork of services available to address elder abuse, and assist states in investigation of abuse, neglect, and exploitation cases.

If you believe someone is being abused, neglected or exploited, please call us for information and advice as to how to remedy the problem.

 

Facebook: A new tool for "grandparent scam"

Watch those privacy settings...

The Better Business Bureau of Northeast California is warning older adults about a telephone scam that preys on grandparents by duping them into thinking they assisting grandchildren in an emergency. 

 

In the scam, the grandparent gets a call from a young person claiming to be the grandson or daughter who is in legal trouble out of the country and needs needs emergency cash.  To stress the urgency, calls are usually made in the middle of the night, and the scammer insists that funds be sent by wire or overnight delivery.  While in previous scams grandparents could test the scammer by asking personal questions only certain people could answer, such as the name of a childhood pet, their nickname, or the college they attended, the new scammers use information garnered from social networking sites.

 

The bureau said a Sacramento grandmother was contacted this week by young woman who claimed to be her granddaughter. The girl said she was in trouble in Canada and needed the victim to wire her $4,500 to get out of jail.  Even after asking several questions, the grandmother said she was absolutely convinced the girl was her granddaughter.  The BBB said the scammer was looking at a Facebook page the real granddaughter had posted, and simply reading off dozens of facts about the family, addresses, and where she went to college.  The information was easily accessible because the granddaughter's Facebook privacy settings weren't high enough, allowing her account to be viewed by just about anyone.

Full Story

Witness Intimidation in Elder Exploitation: Moon the Victim

A 58 year old woman who appeared in court to support her daughter in law who allegedly financially exploited an elderly couple by stealing $250,000 is herself accused of intimidating witnesses, elder abuse, and indecent exposure after Mooning the elderly couple and telling them to "kiss her ____."  (The blank is a three letter synonym for "Donkey," as you might have guessed.

Katherine Patterson rode up an elevator in the courthouse where her daughter in law's case was proceeding and found the elderly victims riding in the same car.  She allegedly made faces at them and exposed her right buttocks and thigh. The elevator encounter was apparently not the first time there were words between the alleged victims and Katherine Patterson.  Patterson allegedly screamed at the couple earlier this month.

The elderly couple, who have medical problems, were apparently upset by the actions of Patterson.  

Elder Abuse Costly

A recent study produced by Virginia Tech and the National Adult Protective Services Association stated that “[e]lder financial abuse costs older Americans more than $2.6 billion per year and is most often perpetrated by family members and caregivers.” The report also indicated that the recession has made older people more vulnerable to this type of exploitation.  Family members and caregivers are the perpetrators in about 55 percent of the cases.

The report also mirrored what I see in my practice, that the typical victim is female, frail, cognitively impaired, trusting of others, and lonely or isolated. 

One of the problems in elder abuse is that the elderly person who is being exploited does not tell anyone, and may not even know that they are being exploited.  It is my opinion that it is always inappropriate to allow a hired caregiver to manage the financial affairs of an elderly person living at home alone, and it is a good practice to have a third party looking at the checking and other accounts to insure that a child who is handling a parent's expenditures are appropriate.

My office deals with the financial (and other) exploitation of the elderly.  If you have questions about this subject, please don't hesitate to call.