Costco Connection - September 2010

PHOTODISC

How businesses can help

Spotting
financial
elder abuse
The invisible crıme
By Sally Abrahms

EIGHTY;SIX;YEAR;OLD Cliff Carlson was in a Seattle grocery store when he was approached by Yana Schinman. The 33-year-old started laying on the charm. She walked the widower to his car, took a long look at his beloved Buick and asked where he lived. Then she started “bumping” into him. Within two months, she convinced Carlson that she was in love with him.

Flattered and lonely, Carlson rented an apartment for Schinman, who claimed she needed it for a bogus business; doled out $30,000 for a second made-up venture; and signed over his car. The icing on the cake? Schinman took him to Reno, where they got married (with no physical relationship). She had hoped to clean Carlson (his name has been changed by request) out of other assets, but was arrested before she could, and charged with conning two other elderly men.

During her spree, she took her “marks” to
Nordstrom, Cartier and a Mercedes-Benz
dealership. At Nordstrom, she opened a joint
credit-card account with one of her cognitively
impaired victims, then purchased scads of
designer clothes without looking at sizes or
prices. At Cartier, she opened a line of credit in
the victim’s name; the confused man couldn’t
remember his address and phone number, so
Schinman supplied it, pointing out the jewelry
she wanted to buy once it was approved.

BUSINESSES CAN PLAY a part in guarding elders against financial abuse, according to Page Ulrey of the King County Prosecutor’s Office in Seattle. While the following simple warning signs, taken individually, may not be significant, when more than one occurs, businesses should become skeptical. When in doubt, report it.

• An elder is brought into a store or business by someone younger who insists on completing the transaction quickly.

• The person accompanying the elder claims to have recently obtained power of attorney or guardianship over the elder, become joint account holder or to have recently married the elder.

• An older person seems disengaged from the transaction, doesn’t follow what’s going on or acts scared or nervous.

• A transaction is inconsistent with the older person’s spending patterns or does not seem to be in the elder’s best interests.

If you believe that an elder is being exploited, call 911. In addition, contact Adult Protective Services (APS). APS offers services and takes action to protect elders from abuse and exploitation. Locate the number for your local APS online by searching for “Adult Protective Services” and the name of your county.

The Costco Connection Costco offers an identity-theft protection service through Identity Guard, which can help monitor credit activity. Visit Costco.com and click on “Services.”

Looking at the “invisible” crime

According to a recent MetLife Mature Market Institute report, elders lose at least $2.6 billion a year to financial abuse. Financial elder abuse is a growing racket that affects all socioeconomic groups and eth-nicities; this past spring the family of a retired

Massachusetts judge claimed he was duped.

Some experts have dubbed financial elder abuse the invisible crime because just 15 percent of cases are reported to police—some victims never realize they’ve been taken, and cognitive deficits may make them unable to credibly testify—and, at least in the past, many perpetrators have received soft sentences.

“Today, we’re decades behind in dealing with financial elder abuse compared to domestic violence and sexual assault,” maintains Costco member Page Ulrey, the prosecutor on the Schinman case.

That may change since President Obama signed the Elder Justice Act in March as part of healthcare reform designed to prevent, detect and support prosecution of elder abuse through training and research. Community awareness initiatives should also help.