Financial Schemes Against the Elderly Are Increasing

WHEN a longtime friend asked for a loan to help get her boyfriend back on his feet, Maria Voltl, 84, decided to help. Ms. Voltl had lent money to her friend before, and it had always been paid back. So without consulting a professional, she handed over $500,000.

 

Now Ms. Voltl is regretting her generosity. None of the money, which was her retirement nest egg, has been repaid — even after a judgment against the couple.

 

“I treated my friend like a daughter,” said Ms. Voltl, of Sparks, Nev. “She said she’d take care of me.

 

Then she sold me out.”

 

As a result, Ms. Voltl lives near the poverty line. She shops at Goodwill, no longer travels and bought a cheaper car with better gas mileage. “My last nice years are ruined,” she said.

 

Financial crimes against elders are taking a toll on lives and pocketbooks. And trusted caregivers — the friends and relatives who offer support and guidance — are often the ones at fault, according to legal and financial specialists. The over-65 segment is expected to grow to 20 percent of the total United States population by 2050 from 13 percent today, according to the Census Bureau, and financial abuse is expected to rise in tandem, draining hard-won retirement money.

 

In New York, which has the third-highest population of seniors in the United States, the number of financial abuse cases is expected to surge by 2030, according to the New York State Office of Children and Family Services estimates.

 

Older adults are appealing — and vulnerable — targets. “They have a lot of money that was saved over the years,” says Tiffany Couch, the founder of Acuity Forensics, a forensic accounting firm in Vancouver, Wash. They are also usually debt-free and own their homes. As dementia and Alzheimer’s rates climb, the elderly may also be increasingly incapable of protecting themselves from fraud.

 

Their caregivers may be dealing with a lot of debt and pressure, and suffering through a bad economy, Ms. Couch said. So they may decide to use an elder’s money to shore up their own finances.

 

“The people stealing from us are never the ones we think will do it,” said Ms. Couch, whose own financial abuse cases have been increasing. “They could be a trusted friend, family member or caretaker. And their typical defense is that ‘They were going to die anyway, so I thought I’d get my inheritance.’ ”

 

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Financial Schemes Against the Elderly are Increasing