In June 2019, Attorney General William Barr met with the general counsel of several major banks to discuss what financial institutions can do to slow the growth of financial elder exploitation. He has demonstrated a real interest in working with the financial industry to establish successful programs and protocols that identify and prevent not just national but also international criminals from targeting American seniors.
Senior financial abuse is an ever-growing problem and, after years of disinterest by the federal government, AG Sessions demonstrated a sincere interest in protecting America’s senior citizens. We are very happy to see that our new Attorney General Barr has placed America’s seniors high on his list of priorities, including establishing the Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force. This is made up of prosecutors and data analysts from the Consumer Protection Branch, FBI special agents, and postal inspectors, along with prosecutors from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in the Central District of California, Middle and Southern Districts of Florida, Northern District of Georgia, Eastern District of New York, and Southern District of Texas and other law enforcement personnel to focus on investigating and prosecuting individuals and entities associated with foreign-based fraud schemes that disproportionately affect American seniors. These include telemarketing, mass-mailing, and tech-support fraud schemes.
“Fraud against the elderly is on the rise,” said Attorney General Barr. “One of the most significant and pernicious causes for this increase is foreign-based fraud schemes. The new Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force will bring together the expertise and resources of our prosecutors, federal and international law enforcement partners, and other government agencies to better target, investigate, and prosecute criminals abroad who prey on our elderly at home. The Department of Justice is committed to ending the victimization of elders across the country.”
In addition, the Strike Force will collaborate with the Federal Trade Commission and industry partners, who have pledged to engage with the DOJ to help obliterate elder fraud. It will also receive help from elder justice coordinators now assigned in every U.S. Attorney’s Office.
With the protective arm of the justice department now stretching out across the country, we hope it will wrap itself around the nursing home industry and do something about their lack of reporting. The Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services study showed that cases of abuse of elderly nursing home patients on Medicare are frequently not reported to state inspection agencies, even though nursing homes are required to report allegations of abuse, neglect, and mistreatment "promptly" so they may be tracked and recorded, in accordance with federal requirements.
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Full Article & Source:
William Barr
See Also:
The Unforgivable Truth documentary by the EARN Project
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