Grassley's legislation would help seniors

The legislation that Sen. Chuck Grassley introduced would address many of the concerns expressed in the recent Register story by taking a comprehensive approach to improve prevention, awareness, investigation and prosecution of crimes targeting seniors [Could elder abuse be prosecuted more often, Oct. 2].

In 2014, my parents were victims of elderly fraud of more than $44,000 by Leading Health Source. On my own $21,000 was refunded and Iowa's attorney general sued Leading Health Source for the remainder $23,000 in Iowa civil courts.

Could more been done by involving the Iowa criminal courts? Leading Health Source was not charged with any criminal acts, which allows them to continue the abuse of elderly people.

Sen. Grassley’s bipartisan Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act, which received unanimous approval by the Senate Judiciary Committee, addresses many issues:

• Ensures that federal prosecutors in Iowa and across the country are tasked with, and equipped to, address the specific challenges of crimes against seniors. It also calls on the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission to develop agency-wide policies on elder justice in order to provide a consistent and effective response to these crimes.
• Increases criminal penalties and jail time for those who use telemarketing or email in their schemes to defraud seniors.
• Improves training for state and local governments to help communities across Iowa better prevent, investigate and prosecute these crimes, as well as helping victims to recover.
• Helps gain a better understanding of these crimes through improved documentation and information sharing so we can continue to develop the best prevention and response plans possible.

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Grassley's legislation would help seniors