Myers and Stauffer at the Adult Protective Services Symposium in June 2024

Missy Parks (member, Baltimore) leads Myers and Stauffer’s litigation support practice, and she now is leading the firm into the emergent practice of adult protective services, which addresses the acute needs of vulnerable elders at the confluence of sweeping scams of fraud and financial abuse. A June 2023 report from the American Bankers Association noted: “According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Internet Crime Complaint Center, victims reported more than $3.1 billion in losses from elder financial abuse in 2022, which represents an 84% increase from 2021”.   Financial exploitation can come in the form of misuse, mishandling, or exploiting any type of assets owned. Various categories of financial exploitation are theft, fraud, lottery, romance, and real estate scams.