Maine AG Forms Task Force to Combat Financial Elder Abuse

Attorney General Janet Mills announced Friday that her office has launched a new initiative with Legal Services for the Elderly to protect older Mainers from financial abuse.

Mills said in a written statement that she and the group have created a statewide task force to answer questions ranging from whether the court system is accessible to elderly Mainers to whether the state’s law enforcement community is adequately trained to investigate cases of elder abuse. The task force, which will include prosecutors, law enforcement officers, court personnel and officials from the Department of Health and Human Services, will be chaired by Assistant Attorney General Leanne Robbin and Jaye Martin, executive director of Legal Services for the Elderly.

“For many years the attorney general’s office and the district attorneys have prosecuted crimes against the elderly,” said Mills. “But with the aging of our state’s population, these crimes have become more prevalent. We need to encourage older citizens to report crimes and to assure them that their personal and financial security is paramount, that their input is valuable and that the criminal justice system will treat them fairly.”

Full Article and Source:
Attorney General Forms Task Force to Combat Financial Elder Abuse