Myers and Stauffer at the Adult Protective Services Symposium in June

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.

Our Work

Myers and Stauffer has more than 26 years of performing forensic accounting services in which we identify potentially misappropriated funds. We analyze, identify, and document our findings for investigators so they can go back to their clients with the questions necessary to validate potential financial exploited monies or assets.

Our dedicated forensic accountants and consultants have acquired significant skill and expertise in the forensic accounting field. The forensic accounting group has more than 150 years of combined experience and includes a large team of CPAs and CFEs, all of whom are fluent in the AICPA Statement on Standards for forensic services. Many team members have national security clearance, which demonstrates that we are a team with integrity that is free from conflicts of interest.

We have provided forensic accounting services, litigation support, and expert testimony services to the Kansas Department of Children and Family Services — Adult Protective Services, Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services — Adult Protective Services, United States Department of Justice (DOJ), Assistant United States Attorney, law enforcement agencies such as the FBI, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services — Office of the Inspector General, Medicaid Fraud Control Units, TRICARE, and other similar agencies.

The Issues and Prevalence of the Problem

Talk about the issues mentioned above. Can you give examples you have encountered in your practice?

The Forensic and Litigation Support team have been working on forensic accounting audits for Kansas and Nebraska’s Adult Protective Services for about two years. We have encountered various types of fraud, from romance scams to theft by family members. We start by digging into each case and analyzing the financial records to determine if we can substantiate the allegations that have been brought forward and subsequently quantify any amount of potential misappropriated funds that have occurred against the vulnerable/elder victim. Some examples of potential misappropriated transactions we have seen are:

Gift card scams where the perpetrator is buying multiple gift cards at one location for the same amount.
Relatives moving in with the elder individuals and utility expenses paid solely by the elder.
Individual lives in a nursing home, but there are significant expenses related to grocery store or retail shops, liquor stores, pet shops, etc.
Transfers of money from the vulnerable adults’ bank accounts to perpetrator bank accounts.
Credit card payments made out of vulnerable adults bank accounts for perpetrator credit card bills.
Cash withdrawals or ATM withdrawals out of vulnerable adults’ bank accounts.

What is the prevalence of elder financial abuse across the country and what trends do you see?

Elder financial exploitation is under reported. According to the Elder Justice Initiative Summit last year, for every one case that is reported, another 43 cases never come to light. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an immediate press release on April 18, 2024, stating that financial institutions report $27 billion in elder financial exploitation activity in one-year period. The exploitation can effect an individual’s savings, checking, retirement savings, and other investment accounts and severely affected their financial security in their golden years. This ever-growing issue is a real concern, as many of the individuals no longer are of working age, are living on their life savings, and have fixed incomes from social security/pensions. They no longer have the ability to replenish their bank accounts with bi-monthly pay checks.

There are several reasons victims of elder financial exploitation do not report the fraud:

Fear of repercussions.
Shame.
Emotional dependence on perpetrators.
Lack of recognition that a problem exists due to cognitive impairment.
Dementia.
Social isolation.

Some of the financial exploitation schemes we see relate to:

Caregiver fraud.
Romance scams.
Gift card scams.
Family members stealing money.
Persian cat scam (Yes, I did say Persian cat. Years ago, I was a bank teller when a customer wanted to send $4,000 to
buy a Persian cat. I tried to stop/discourage them, but even after the bank reported the incident to APS, the customer still went ahead and sent the money).
Theft involving real estate.

Do you anticipate artificial intelligence making this problem worse?

Yes, I think AI could have a significant impact on elder fraud and abuse issues. Technology is ever-evolving, just as fraud schemes are.

Speaking Engagement: Elder and Dependent Abuse Symposium

You will be presenting at this Symposium. Tell us about it and why it’s important.

The 2024 Riverside County Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse Symposium is a one-day conference being held in Riverside, California, with an estimated 500 attendees. The Symposium’s purpose is to continue to raise awareness about elder and dependent adult abuse. The event will highlight and discuss innovative approaches, programs, and strategies that aim to prevent or protect the elder or dependent audit from abuse and neglect. There will be several speakers discussing varying issues, such as financial exploitation in the elderly/vulnerable population. The audience will be composed of individuals in law enforcement, medical, mental/behavioral health, and social services, along with nonprofit and faith-based organizations.

How have you been preparing?

I have been gathering various materials that discuss the significant issues pertaining to financial exploitation. My goal is to educate the audience on the significant impact of the fraud and how there needs to be more resources to assist states in reporting the fraud. Billions of dollars are being stolen from our elder/vulnerable population, and there seems to be very little in the way of resources available to stop the bleeding. We must continue to report this issue so that law enforcement officials can hold these perpetrators responsible for their actions. We must fight for those who can’t fight for themselves.

What is the most important takeaway for your audience?

To continue to report financial exploitation and reach out for help. I believe there is a lack of resources to help with financial exploitation amongst the elderly. The more it is reported, the more law enforcement officials will pay attention and understand this is a serious epidemic amongst our elder population.

A Look Ahead

How are we hoping to grow our practice in this area?

This year, Myers and Stauffer will have a vendor booth at the National Association for Protective Services (NAPSA) Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We are very excited to be a vendor, and we hope to see a lot of foot traffic come our way. This conference is held annually, and representatives from all states attend. In fact, our Nebraska client is bringing 30 people just to attend the conference. In addition to the conference, we continue to look for requests for proposals related to financial exploitation and reach out to our current clients to see what else we can do to help.

What can we do now, and what’s on the horizon?

We will continue assisting Kansas and Nebraska with forensic accounting audits for the APS units to quantify the fraud and hope more states have the ability to reach out to us for help. This ever growing problem is not going away and will only continue to be an issue with the baby boomer population retiring.

Missy Parks, CFE, AHFI
Member
PH 410.581.4548
mparks@mslc.com