Crimes Against Seniors and Vulnerable Adults Unit (CASVA)
The State’s Attorney’s Office defines crimes against seniors as any criminal act involving a victim who is 65 years of age or older. For financial exploitation cases, the senior has to be 68 years of age or older or vulnerable. A vulnerable adult is an individual over the age of 18 who lacks the physical and/or mental capacity to provide for their daily needs. Crimes against seniors/vulnerable adults may be physical, sexual or financial.
What is Elder/Vulnerable Adult Abuse?
- Physical, sexual or psychological abuse, as well as neglect, abandonment or financial exploitation of another person or entity
- Can occur in any setting such as a home, community of facility
- An older person is targeted based on age or disability
What is Financial Exploitation?
- Financial exploitation is defined at the illegal or improper use of an elder’s funds, property or assets.
- Examples include: cashing an elderly person’s check without permission, forging an older person’s signature, misusing or stealing an elder’s money or possessions, coercing or deceiving the senior into signing documents (contracts, wills, etc.) and improper use of conservatorship, guardianship, or power of attorney.
Elder Abuse by the Numbers
- Between 2-5 million older Americans experience abuse over one year, and many experienced it in multiple forms
- Elder abuse is underreported nationwide and in Montgomery County – a May 2011 study found that one in every 24 cases of physical abuse or neglect involving a senior was reported to Adult Protective Service, law enforcement or other authorities.
- The same study found that only 1 out of every 44 cases of financial exploitation was reported.
Crimes Against Seniors and Vulnerable Adults Unit Brochures
To download Brochure click on the desired language
English, Spanish, Mandarin, VietnameseNews Clips:
Elderly couple who were victimized by a woodchuck scam and a successful prosecution by our office:https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/authorities-issue-warning-after-elderly-couple-loses-nearly-200k-in-home-repair-scam/3354072/
NCEA Red Flags of abuse and other awareness materials:
https://www.aginginplace.org/guide-to-recognizing-elder-abuse
STATISTICS
The 2011 MetLife Study of Elder Financial Abuse
https://www.metlife.com/mmi/research/elder-financial-abuse.html#key findings
Administration on Aging released their Profile of Older Americans: 2014 recently.
1 out of every 7 persons is over 65 in the United States
Population over 65 has grown about 24% over the last 10 years while population under 65 has grown only by about 7%. Maryland growth rate slightly higher at 27%
Life expectancy for those now aged 65 is an additional 20 yrs.
Over 12 million of those over 65, live alone.
Articles:
Hang Up on investment Fraud
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PtCxXTUhJg
White House conference on aging article:
Fact Sheet:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/07/13/fact-sheet-white-house-conference-aging
Swindlers target older women on dating websites
Romance Scams:
http://www.romancescams.org
Couple Nearly Loses $200K in Home Repair Scam:
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/authorities-issue-warning-after-elderly-couple-loses-nearly-200k-in-home-repairscam/3354072
Links to additional resources:
National Center on Elder Abuse
Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)
https://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx
National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C)
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)
Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI)
https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/what_we_investigate
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
United States Postal Inspection Service
https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/
United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)
https://www.occ.gov/topics/bank-operations/financial-crime/index-financial-crime.html
United States Department of Justice (DOJ)
https://www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
https://www.cftc.gov/ConsumerProtection/FraudAwarenessPrevention/index.htm
Elder Justice Resources
https://www.hhs.gov/aging/elder-justice/index.html
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
https://www.hhs.gov/aging/index.html
Saving and Investing
https://www.saveandinvest.org/
initiative of the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network
National Commitee for the Prevention of Elder abuse (NCPEA)
https://www.nsvrc.org/organizations/72
World Health Organization
https://www.who.int/ageing/en/
Center of Excellence on Elder Abuse & Neglect
https://www.centeronelderabuse.org/red-flags-of-elder-abuse.asp
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
https://www.consumerfinance.gov/
Contact a member of the State's Attorney's Office Special Victims Division Staff