Elder Abuse is Topic of County Pamphlet
A district attorney's office official says most cases are perpetrated by a family member.
By Richard Chaplin, The Press-Enterprise San Bernardino
Originally published in Inland Empire Online, June 17, 2001
It happens quietly, affecting the lives of some of society's most vulnerable citizens.
In case after case, law enforcement agencies are discovering that senior citizens are being victimized, their financial resources drained, sometimes by the very people for whom they sacrificed time and money in their younger years.
"It's pervasive," said District Attorney Dennis Stout. "It's one of these crimes that unless people are specifically looking for it, it goes unreported."
To help seniors and those who work with them identify potential financial abuses, the San Bernardino County district attorney's office has produced a pamphlet on the topic.
Stout said he has placed extra emphasis on elder abuse since reading Tom Brokaw's book, "The Greatest Generation."
"This is the greatest generation," Stout said of the elderly. "They've sacrificed so much for us. Isn't it time we gave something back to them? And one way we can do that is to protect them."
The DA's pamphlet describes elder financial abuse as "using the elder's money or assets contrary to the elder's wishes, needs, or best interests—or for the abuser's personal gain."
A 1996 study by the National Center on Elder Abuse found that almost half a million seniors nationwide experienced abuse of some kind. Taking into account population growth, the number of seniors reporting abuse rose 128 percent from 1986 to 1996.
While most of those numbers reflect physical abuse, Deputy District Attorney Tristan D. Svare of the San Bernardino County Elder Abuse Prosecution Unit said more and more cases of financial abuse of the elderly are coming to light.
"People are starting to lift up the rock and see what's happening," Svare said. "Like child abuse, if we don't know that it's happening, behind closed doors, then we can't do anything."
Svare said the majority of the cases of elder financial abuse are perpetrated by an elder's own family members.
"Some of the attitude is, 'It's going to be my inheritance anyway,'" Svare said.
Stout said one all-too typical example can happen when a teen-ager with a drug abuse problem moves in with a grandparent. The teen then forges the grandparent's signature on personal checks and cashes them to get money for drugs.
"It's a tragic situation, especially when you're involving family members, because you have all these emotional issues in addition to the crimes," Stout said.
Although some seniors are reluctant to press changes against family members, there are ways the district attorney can prosecute abusers even without the senior's acquiescence, Stout said.
Abuse by family members is more prevalent, but it also tends to be more small-scale. The large-scale scams are most often perpetrated by strangers who run organized scams on many seniors, Svare said. The DA's pamphlet lists various forms of financial abuse, such as changing an elder's will or using an elder's credit card without authorization.
It also lists a number of scams perpetrated by professional bunko artists, such as staged car accidents or phony sweepstakes for which a senior is asked to pay a "tax" to receive a prize.
The pamphlet provides a list of warning signs of elder financial abuse, tips to reduce the chance of being abused and names and numbers of agencies that can help.
For more information or to request a pamphlet, call one of the county's Elder Abuse Units: San Bernardino, (909) 891-3346; Rancho Cucamonga, (909) 945-6031; or Victorville, (760) 951-3400. "We're really excited about this program," Stout said. "We really feel like we are starting to make a difference."
