Our speaker was William Biang an investigator with the Lake County State's Attorney. Before coming to the State's Attorney's office, Bill served 32 years on the Waukegan Police Department, retiring as Chief of Police in 2009.
He spoke to us about crimes against the elderly, his specific investigative area of expertise. Identity theft is the fastest growing of these because our population is aging and more individuals enter this class of vulnerable citizens. The State's Attorney gets most of its crime referrals from Catholic Charities. The second major source is the private attorneys of victims.
Crimes include:
Physical abuse-surprisingly not so many cases
Sexual abuse-mostly in nursing homes
Emotional abuse-the victim's movements are confined or restricted
Passive neglect
Willful deprivation eg, stealing money intended for medicine
Financial exploitation
Victim Statistics:
3/4 are female
Average age is 79
3/4 have physical impairment
1/2 of all reports are substantiated
Abuser Statistics:
3/4 are family members (many of them grown children)
1/2 are primary caregivers
1/4 are substance abusers
1/5 are gamblers
To deal with and prosecute these cases, Elder Law expertise is required.
The number one crime against the elderly is financial exploitation. The Perpetrator gains control of bank accounts, Social Security or pension checks, stocks/bonds, or other assets. They open credit card accounts.
Exploitation Methods
Take through Power of Attorney and threats to institutionalize the elderly person.
Borrowing money and not paying it back. Often it is a close family relative and victim refuses to prosecute.
Denying medical services to "conserve" money
Selling possessions without permission eg.,reverse mortgages
Forging endorsements and cashing checks
Forcing the elderly to sign over property in return for care
Joint bank accounts
Deed or title transfer through the use of force,intimidation, or "gift"
Power of Attorney fraudulently used
Living Trusts and Wills with unreliable trustees
Biang gave several examples. In some of these cases it was hard to prosecute because the elderly were required as witnesses.
Indicators of Trouble
Executing a Power of Attorney where the individual can't comprehend what is happening because of dementia
Refusal to spend for care
Recent acquaintances showing undying affection to gain control
Recent changes to wills or property titles
Lifelong care in exchange for deeding more property
Senior appears fearful
Money is loaned without a plan for repayment
Isolation of seniors
Account statements sent to relatives or others
Physical abuse or neglect
Fraud by strangers
Home and auto repair fraud
While walking around outside with contractor to get an estimate a confederate enters the home and burglarizes the residence
Confidence games including lottery ticket scams and "bank examiner" scams where the victim is asked to withdraw money as evidence of a phony misdeed on the part of the bank
Monitoring obituaries and wedding announcements to burglarize the premises in the absence of the owner
Grandparent scam-supposed grandchild calls needing money
Consumer fraud via email
Telephone fraud where one is offered a free trip only to eventually find out you have to buy something first
In summary Biang indicated that much goes unreported because the victim is too embarrassed.
In response to a question Biang indicated that he believes services like LifeLock have value.
