World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

Fragile People, Alarming Mistreatment

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) defines elder abuse as “an intentional act or failure to act that causes or creates a risk of harm to an older adult.” (age 60 or older).

As we reported in our post on Older Americans Month, the U.S. population is getting older, and it’s increasing at a faster rate than the younger population, according to the same report.

The CDC reports that roughly one in 10 older adults who live at home experience abuse, and between 2002 and 2016, 643,000 older Americans presented in the emergency room for assaults and more than 19,000 older people were victims of homicide.

However, the CDC says:

The data underestimate the problem because the number of nonfatal injuries is limited to older adults who are treated in emergency departments. The information doesn’t include those treated by other providers or those that do not need or do not seek treatment. Additionally, many cases are not reported because the older adult is afraid or unable to tell police, friends, or family about the violence.”

The CDC estimates that violent abuse of elderly cost nearly $33 billion in 2022.

Beyond physical violence, there are other equally concerning forms of abuse against the elderly, including emotional/psychological abuse, confinement, willful deprivation, sexual abuse, passive neglect, abandonment, and financial exploitation. Those committing the abuse can be anyone, but – from spouses or family members to staff in facilities. Research shows that family members or loved ones represent more than 50 percent of abusers.

According to the Nursing Home Abuse Center in its report on Nursing Home Abuse Statistics, roughly five million older adults experience abuse each year. The report indicates that emotional abuse is the most common form of mistreatment, and 81 percent of nursing facility staff reported that co-workers had done something to cause emotional harm to residents.

Elder Financial Abuse

Financial exploitation of older adults can come in the form of misuse, mishandling, or exploiting an adult’s asset of any kind. Various categories of financial exploitation are theft, fraud, lottery scams, romance scams, and real estate. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reports that older adults are disproportionately affected by fraud and scams, with more than 100,000 victims reported in 2023. According to the FBI’s complaint center, schemes aimed at adults aged 60 and older generated more than three billion in losses in 2023 — up roughly 11 percent from 2022.

Older adults are especially vulnerable to financial exploitation due to age related issues, such as dementia, worsening cognitive ability, and physical issues,” says Missy Parks, principal. “Loneliness and social isolation are also contributing factors that may lead some vulnerable adults to be more trusting of those willing to spend time with them. Many of these elder adults are retired and have a lifetime of savings that also make them targets.

“One in nine seniors reported being abused, neglected, or exploited in the past twelve months, with another one in 20 older adults indicating some form of perceived financial mistreatment occurring in the recent past. Elder abuse is vastly under-reported as only one in 44 cases of financial abuse is ever reported.

“Abused seniors are three times more likely to die and elder abuse victims are four times more likely to go into a nursing home. Almost one in 10 financial abuse victims will turn to Medicaid as a direct result of their own monies being stolen from them.”

The average losses of elder financial fraud were $33,915 in 2023. And Congress.gov reports that from July 2023 through June 2024, the Department of Justice (DOJ) “…pursued over 300 enforcement actions against over 700 defendants charged with stealing nearly $700 million from over 225,000 older victims.”

Trends

The total amount of elder financial abuse varies by source in any given year. The FBI stated $3.4 billion in self-reported losses from elders, thought to be an underestimation, because, according to another FBI article, they may not know how to report or may feel too much shame and embarrassment. The AARP reports losses of $28.3 billion annually for victims of elder financial abuse and estimates that 87.5 percent of incidents go unreported when the victim knows the perpetrator. When the perpetrator is a stranger, only 33 percent remain unreported. In all, AARP indicates 72 percent or $20.3 billion in fraud incidents are committed by people the individual knows.

“When we assist investigators, the overwhelming majority the financial exploitation cases concern relatives financially exploiting vulnerable adults,” says Missy. “Adult children of older parents are the most frequently identified perpetrators of elder theft. The adult children tended to live near the parent they were victimizing. Those closest to the victim — whether in terms of relationship or in physical proximity — were the most frequently identified perpetrators.

“Professional caregivers such as nurses, aides, rehabilitation facility workers, and in-home care providers were the next most frequently identified perpetrators of elder theft. Caretakers often have access to older adults’ banking information, checkbooks, or other personally identifiable information.”

Top Scams

Scammers are creative and very committed, trying, repeatedly, in any number of ways to perpetrate financial fraud against older Americans. The National Council on Aging (NCOA) reports these as the top five schemes:

Grandparent scams.
Financial services scams.
Tech support scams.
Government impersonation scams.
Romance scams.

Other popular schemes targeting older adults include lottery/sweepstakes, investments, robocalls/phone scams, internet and email, and business imposter schemes.

“Through our work at Myers and Stauffer on financial exploitation cases, we have come across several gift card schemes where we have seen perpetrators purchase multiple gift cards simultaneously using the vulnerable adult’s funds and draining their accounts,” says Missy. “We have seen romance schemes where large sums of money are sent overseas in a short amount of time using various money transfer platforms. We have also seen schemes where vulnerable adults would purchase cashier’s checks for perpetrators with the promise of large sums of money in return.”

One scheme that intersects directly with our work at Myers and Stauffer is the Medicare scam, in which perpetrators pose as Medicare representatives who try to get the individuals’ Medicare number, Social Security Number, or other personally identifying information so they can fraudulently bill Medicare and pocket reimbursements.

According to the NCOA, warning signs of financial elder abuse include fake signatures on documents, unpaid bills, unusual or sudden change in spending habits, and changes in wills/trusts or other financial documents. Additional signs of Exploitation include:

ATM withdrawals by a person who has never used a debit or ATM card.
Withdrawals from bank accounts or transfers between accounts the customer cannot explain.
New “best friends” accompanying an older person to the bank.
Closing CDs/accounts and draining retirement funds without regard to penalties.
Loss of property and missing belongings.
Confusion, fear, or lack of awareness on the part of an older customer. Refusal to make eye contact, shame, or reluctance to talk about the problem.
Checks written as “loans” or “gifts.”
Bank statements that no longer go to the customer’s home or address/names have been changed on accounts.
A caretaker, relative, or friend who suddenly begins conducting financial transactions on behalf of an older person without proper documentation.

How Myers and Stauffer Can Help

Established in 1977, Myers and Stauffer is a nationally based consulting and certified public accounting (CPA) firm. For more than 48 years, we have worked exclusively with local, state, and federal government health and human-services agencies to help them accomplish their most critical goals for the nation’s most fragile people.

Armed with decades of experience alongside timely knowledge of fraud trends, our forensic consultants and accountants know how to uncover misappropriated funds. We analyze, identify, and document our findings for the investigators, who in turn, go back to their clients and ask the questions necessary to validate potential financial exploited monies or assets. We provide a full complement of Health Care Fraud Investigation and Litigation Support. Contact a member of our team today.