Elder Abuse and Neglect Law Blog - Providing a Voice for the Vulnerable on Elder Abuse & Neglect Issues

The story of Brooke Astor is perhaps one of the more amazing stories of financial elder abuse. Ms. Astor, a prominent figures in the New York social scene, was known for her wealth, style and philanthropy. Initially revealed in 2006, Brooke Astor's only child, Anthony ("Tony") Marshall was indicted on criminal charges that included grand larceny, possession of stolen property, forgery and conspiracy.

Convicted in 2009 on charges such as grand larceny and falsifying business reports, Marshall had abused his power of attorney to his mother's estate by selling it and forging her signature in the third codicil of his will with Astor's former lawyer, Francis X. Morrissey. Their amendment would have left the entire estate to Marshall. This directly contradicted Ms. Astor's previously articulated intent and desire to give a large portion of her estate to charity.

Last Wednesday, a settlement was finally reached that would cut Tony Marshall's share to $14.5 million. $12.3 million will be paid out of the estate to the Manhattan D.A.'s office for the prosecution of Mr. Marshall.

Of the proceeds, some $20 million will go to the Metropoliation Museum of Art. $15 million will go to the New York Public Library. A $30 million fund will also be established to improve education in New York.

In today's MarketWatch Reality Q&A, the sad but true fact is underscored: Over half of this country's elder abuse cases involve a family member, not shady "mortgage professionals." The column indicates that sons are most likely to scam their parents or grandparents, more so than a fraudulent contractor/handyman or paramour.

This doesn't mean that senior citizens should trust all lenders suddenly. Make sure that the senior that you're concerned about understands the terms of the loan and the pros/cons of going through with the loan before s/he signs on the dotted line. Reverse mortgages rank as the 8th most prevalent scam targeting the elderly.

Yesterday, the Oregon Senate approved House Bill 4084, which supporters say will beef up the ability of law enforcement to protect vulnerable seniors from financial and physical abuse.  

The bill is modeled on legislation protecting children from abuse. It's much harder under current law to step in with seniors and seek their financial and medical records that could provide evidence of potential abuse.  

As The Oregonian’s Rebecca Woolington wrote last month, the proposal allows law enforcement to gain access "to records that belong to elderly victims without them — or a caregiver  — signing a waiver, if investigators believe abuse is occurring." That way, authorities can access records in a much speedier 

The Census Bureau reports some sobering statistics: The segment of our population that is 90 years old or older has tripled in the past three decades to 2 million. The number is projected to quadruple by 2050.

As the economy continues to limp along and the aging population jumps, an increasing number of elderly people are forced to turn to their younger relatives. Unfortunately, these family members don't always have their vulnerable elders' best interest in mind. This is one of the key reasons why elder financial abuse is growing at epidemic proportions.

A recent USA Today article addresses this troubling problem, reporting the opening of the first elder abuse shelter in Ohio. Despite the statistics that point to widespread abuse, the total number of elder abuse shelters in this country are in the single digits, Non profit groups fund all of them.

Word still needs to get out that our the elder abuse problem is cutting across socio-economic lines.  

According to an AP report, Alfonso Patrick Moya, Jr. faces abuse and drug charges related to the death of his 72-year old father. Apparently, Mr. Moya was selling his father's pain medication. Mr. Moya was his father, Alfonso Patricio Moya Sr.'s primary caregiver.

The day after being admitted to a Veterans Administration hospital, Moya Sr., died from dehydration, malnutrition, and bedsores that resulted from neglect. Police claim that Moya Jr. had been filling his father's monthly Lortab prescriptions and sold them.

According to hospital officials' reports to the Salt Lake Tribune, the eldery Moya's bed sores were so severe that one bed sore was the size of a fist. That sore would have required surgery as well as an open sore on one of his feet. His feet and ankles were swollen to twice their normal size. As recently as December 2010, doctors claimed that Moya Sr. was able to walk and speak.

When police entered Moya Jr's house, they said that they were overwhelmed with a "very strong odor" of bleach, feces, and decomposing tisue. Despite the fact that the bedding had been disposed of or in the laundry, the mattress where Moya Sr had been lying was "saturated with urine and feces"

Moya Jr. admitted that his father hadn't been bathed for at least two weeks, but blamed his estranged wife for not cleaning off the fecal matter before calling 911.

A June 2011 by the MetLife Mature Market Institute (MMMI) reports that older Americans lost $2.9 billion as the result of elder abuse. This is a whopping 12% increase from the previous year.

A common practice among banks is to allow older customers to use signature stamps (especially for those clients who find it more difficult to sign their names on forms, etc.)

The MMMI report is a sobering reminder that elder abuse comes in many forms--not only physical and emotional, but also financial. However, if a signature stamp fall in the wrong hands, it can do much more than wreak more than a little havoc to one's finances. Case in point: Ms. Isenberg.

Ms. Isenberg's daughter, Liz Sanders, hired a caregiver for her bedridden mother. This caregiver, Ms. Wofford, slowly drained over 3/4 of $1 million from Ms. Isenberg's accounts. Wofford wrote herself checks and withdrew from Wofford's life insurance. In addition to racking up tens of thousands of dollars in debt at various department stores, Ms. Wofford treated herself to a Mercedes courtesy of Ms. Isenberg--unbeknownst to Ms. Isenberg and her daughter.

When Liz Sanders found out about how Wofford had victimized Ms. Isenberg, she also learned that restitution was not a reality. However, she was determined to make it less easy for such financial abuse to occur to other elderly Californians. She went to her state senator, Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills), and put together California Senate Bill 586, which would have doubled the penalties for elder and dependent adult abuse in California. It added new provisions for the issuing of signature stamps by state-organized banks and credit unions.

The legislation passed easily, backed by the AARP along with other advocates for seniors and the CA Senior Legislature. Yet, Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed the bill last week. His message with the veto was that he did not believe that the bill would prevent fraudulent use of stamps. Brown pointed to another bill that increases penalties for elder abuse embezzlement, forgery, and identity theft as sufficient.

Liz Sanders says she pursued the legislation to find justice for her mother, and also to protect other seniors who might be at risk. The process helped spread the word about this problem throughout California and the United States.

Please heed Sanders' plight and stay mindful of common signs of financial elder abuse: 

• Unusual financial activity, abnormal purchases, unpaid bills
• An individual seems neglected physically or his/her home seems neglected
• An elderly person asks to add a new name to bank accounts or seeks other co-signing arrangements
• An individaul is granted power of attorney, although the senior may not have known that person for a long period of time
• Increasing isolation of a senior along with decreasing contact with family members/friends
• The emergence of a sudden "new best friend," especially of someone who is much younger than the senior.

Better to err on the side of caution and report any suspicions to local authorities, which often have a division that focuses on assisting seniors.

In today's Seattle P-I, there's a sad story about a supposed "caregiver," 52 year old Samantha Pierce, who bilked an elderly couple for several years. Pierce was hired in 2005 to serve as an in-home caregiver to the 93 year old woman, who did not want to move to a nursing home.

Instead of focusing on caring for the dying 93 year old woman, Pierce integrated herself into every aspect of the man's life, including managing his finances. Writing roughly $300,000 worth of checks to herself, her family, and friends, she also convinced the man to buy and transfer the title of a Cadillac Escalade SUV, which was “was inconsistent with (the man’s) tastes” (according to what a detective was told). 

By 2007, Pierce had herself added to the man's checking account. 

Pierce's presence had grown so dominant in the man's life, that he toasted Pierce rather than commemorate his wife on the day his wife died.

She battled with the man's children, who demanded early on that she be fired after their mother had suffered an overdose because Pierce had given her too much Ritalin.  The woman ended up in a nursing home after all, and died in early 2007. However, Pierce returned as his "Executive Assistant, CNA," which is what she called herself on her business cards that she had made. Pierce was not ever a certified nurse's assistant.

After keeping the man isolated and apparently over-medicated, she was poised to purchase a $2 million Lake Washington house sight unseen.  But thankfully, Pierce was arrested in 2009, and the man appears more cogent and now spends more time with his family--something that he has always enjoyed.

This story seems fantastic, but it is true. What is even scarier is that there are likely more stories like this out there, which no one has yet (or may never) unearth. One of the lessons that we can take away from this man's misfortune is to stay vigilant, if you see your loved one/elderly relative under the care of a suspicious "caregiver." Trust your instincts. Ask a lot of questions from the start. Ask to see verification, when they call themselves a "CNA." It may save your elderly relative a huge sum of money and heartache.

On Jan. 1^st of this year, nursing homes in California began to post federal ratings on their quality of care.  This is in response to a state law that passed in 2009. 

Visitors, residents, and employees are now able to see how a specific home rates on a five-star scale, according to the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.  The scale ranges from five stars, which represents “much beyond average” to one star, which represents “much below average.”

For those in Washington State, similar tools are available online at the DSHS site with the Nursing Home Compare tool.  There, you can check out the other options, in addition to finding nursing homes in a particular area of the state.

However, ratings alone are not enough to base your decision about where to place an elderly relative.  Visit and ask questions of the residents, the employees.  Do not rest, until you feel confident that you have found the best option available.  Even once you have made up your mind, always remain vigilant for any signs that your loved one is being cared for in the best manner possible.

Yesterday, the Seattle Times published an article about companies who provide referrals to Nursing Homes and Adult Family homes.  The article outlines examples of how, even with a referral to a specific facility, seniors have been mistreated and neglected.  Referral of seniors to housing and care facilities is a lucrative business.  Many seniors and their families have no ideas where to start when looking for placement and reach out to referral services.  If you work with a referral service, do your own background check and investigation.  Once a placement has been made, continue to observe and review the care that the facility is receiving.  Always report any mistreatment, failed care and neglect.  Don't simply trust the referral.

The Associated Press is telling the harrowing tale of some of Haiti's most vulnerable. In the recent earthquake endured by the impoverished country, residents of one nursing home were left to fend for themselves:

On the grounds of the Municipal home for the elderly Thursday, old people lay listlessly in beds out in the open with sheets smeared with excrement, surrounded by hundreds of people living in makeshift tents. One man wore just a T-shirt, his private parts exposed. A woman, just skin and bones, held her head. A body lay in the debris of the nearby nursing home.

The aid that is starting to trickle in isn't getting to the nations most vulnerable nearly fast enough:

On the grounds of the Municipal home for the elderly Thursday, old people lay listlessly in beds out in the open with sheets smeared with excrement, surrounded by hundreds of people living in makeshift tents. One man wore just a T-shirt, his private parts exposed. A woman, just skin and bones, held her head. A body lay in the debris of the nearby nursing home.

The quick end to lives in these nursing homes only highlights what a lack of proper nutrition and hydration can do to an elderly person's body, with people passing from a lack of food of just 3 days.

I often decry the conditions at for-profit nursing homes. But I have to admit that the situation in Haiti is far worse. If you can, please donate a couple of dollars to the American Red Cross. You can do so by texting the word GIVE to 24357 (2HELP). You may give up to 5 $5 donations using that method.