Law Tips: The Problem of Financial Exploitation of the Elderly and Disabled

Financial exploitation of the elderly and disabled has been called “the hidden epidemic.” Attorneys who represent the aged and disabled frequently encounter acts of financial exploitation. And attorneys must do what they can to protect their clients from the risk of being financially exploited.

This statement from James Voelz, ICLEF’s Elder Law Institute faculty member, is a reflection of his ongoing concerns about the elderly and disabled clients he serves. I am grateful that Jim agreed to share his expertise on protecting clients in the expanding elder law arena with Law Tips readers. This week he provides background on the “problem” and the applicable law. Then, as we go down this road, we’ll hear Mr. Voelz’s further advice on steps elder law attorneys may want to take to prevent exploitation of clients.

The Indiana Adult Protective Services (“APS”) program received 41,334 reports, of which 10,506 reports were investigated during 2012. The reports were classified as follows: Abuse- 2,689, Neglect- 3,176, Self Neglect- 3,198, and Financial Exploitation- 1,443. How many cases of financial exploitation are reported? The estimates range from 1 in 5 to 1 in 44.

I recently met with an APS investigator who has almost 25 years of experience. He said that reports of financial exploitation are increasing, and voiced extreme frustration that he has never seen criminal charges filed against a person who financially exploited an elderly or a disabled person! He said that we have the tools to protect people in Indiana, but these tools are not being used effectively. He said the exploiters are getting away with financial exploitation when they are not being prosecuted. He said prosecutors do not file charges, because victims suffer from dementia or other health issues making it difficult to prove that a crime has been committed.

I also contacted Patrick D. Calkins, who is the Program Director for Adult Protective Services. Mr. Calkins told me that APS does not keep statistics about the number of financial exploitation reports that result in criminal charges being filed against the alleged perpetrator. He did verify that the most common excuse for failure to prosecute is “that the victims make bad witnesses.” But he said that his take on this is that homicide victims make bad witnesses also, but prosecutors still file charges for murder.

Mr. Calkins also told me that the victim’s attorney is often the victim’s last line of defense.

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Law Tips: The Problem of Financial Exploitation of the Elderly and Disabled