Social workers assigned to adult protective services work are finding more than 1,000 cases of financial exploitation a year, the state Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services reported.
Hardly any are prosecuted.
And a deeper dive into a random sample of 141 cases found:
•More than half of the fraud, theft or abuse was by a family member.
•Nearly two-thirds of victims live in their own home.
•More than a third of cases included outright theft of cash or checks.
•About half the cases documented referrals to police.
•Two cases ended with a conviction.
"Adult financial exploitation leaves its victims and their family members devastated and weighs heavily on adult protective services workers, law enforcement personnel, prosecutors and judges who respond to it," wrote James Rothrock, commissioner of the aging and rehabilitation services department, in forwarding the report to Gov. Terry McAuliffe and the General Assembly.
Although not all the case files described the amount of money lost, in 76 instances social workers found losses amounting to $2.1 million. Multiplying the average loss of $27,782 by the more than 1,000 cases a year that social workers report suggests that verified reported fraud is running about $28 million year.
That doesn't include losses such as those suffered in eight of the 141 cases where victims' homes or land were sold without their knowledge, or the three cases where they were evicted from their homes, or the two cases where their cars were sold or transferred, or the two victims whose wills were changed without their knowledge.
And since all those 1,000 verified cases are probably a small fraction of actual instances, the department believes unreported cases could amount to more than $1 billion, based on estimates of under-reporting of all types of abuse.
"It's really an ugly situation," said state Sen.-elect Monty Mason, D-Williamsburg, whose special interest in elder issues has led him to sponsor or co-sponsor several measures, including co-sponsoring the legislation that called for the aging department's report.
"We shined some light on it," he said. "A big part of the fix is more awareness, more understanding of the fact that it is out there."
Because the cases so often involve family members or caregivers, or victims who are too embarrassed to complain and seek redress, they easily fall between the cracks, Mason said.
"These can be very difficult, delicate cases," said William Massey, chief executive of the Peninsula Agency on Aging, the state-sanctioned regional body that's meant to be a first stop for older Virginians seeking help.
Victims are often unaware they've been victimized, so Massey said it is often up to his agency's care coordinators, other social services agencies, or friends and family to spot a problem.
A Daily Press review of a database of 10 years worth of Hampton Roads circuit court cases, assembled after state court administrators refused to release the record under the Freedom of Information Act, found only four individuals who had been charged under the section of state law referring to financial abuse of the elderly or incapacitated. Only two ended in convictions. One defendant served a month in jail, the other 10 days.
Aging and rehabilitative services that department staff said their records review did not show why more cases are not referred but added that some social workers report that police often view exploitation involving family members or holders of a power of attorney letter as a civil matter.
Department staff also speculated that in many cases, victims were unwilling to press charges.
"Sometimes, the perpetrator is someone they care about and don't want to hurt," said Newport News Commonwealth's Attorney Howard Gwynn. In many cases, the person abusing an elderly person is the only one providing any help at all, and victims worry about what will happen to them if a case is prosecuted, he said.
Gwynn said he was shocked after attending a seminar on elder abuse a few years ago where Richmond officials reported about 100 cases of physical, mental and financial abuse, and he could recall only a handful of cases that came through his office.
"I suppose I could have said we don't have a problem, but I was worried that maybe we weren't paying attention," he said.
Gwynn has recently hired an attorney who worked on elder law cases for 16 years in the Philadelphia prosecutor's office and is pushing for training for police officers, firefighters and city inspectors to keep a sharp eye out when responding to calls.
"If you're in codes compliance and looking at a complaint about junk in someone's yard, and see a terrified adult and a telephone with a handset taped to the base, you need to know what that means," he said.
Gwynn is also trying to talk up some changes in the law.
One would address a major challenge in investigating and resolving cases: the fact that individuals defrauding vulnerable adults often have received power of attorney letters from their victims. That's a document that can, among other things, give authority to handle money, dispose of property or make decisions about care. Gwynn thinks investigators need more authority to question people holding power of attorney about how they are handling their responsibilities.
Another would deal with a challenge in bringing a case to court: Nursing home residents and other very frail adults may be simply unable to get to court. Legislation making it easier to take depositions from such adults and use them in court would help, Gwynn said.
But the key, he said, is for families, neighbors and friends to keep an eye out.
"It is a community issue," he said.
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Elder financial abuse costs millions in Virginia, state report says
Think of what the national cost is and the states are not prepared nor are they getting prepared for all the cases that will come.
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