She went to check on her elderly dad — he was gone and his caretaker had moved in. How this could happen to you

 by Vawn Himmelsbach

Imagine hiring a caretaker for your ailing father, only to find out your father passed away and the caretaker had moved into his home, leaving no trace of him behind.

While it sounds like the plot to a movie, it’s what actually happened to Nora Rowland, who told Inside Edition that she drove from Baltimore to South Carolina to do a wellness check after not hearing from her father for several weeks.

Her 75-year-old father, Robert, had Parkinson’s and a brain injury.

When Nora arrived, however, her key didn’t work. The doorbell had been replaced by a Ring doorbell camera. When she rang the doorbell, the voice who answered said her dad had passed away three days earlier.

So Nora climbed through an open window to investigate. Her father was gone, but so were all traces of him. A new family had moved in; the walls were painted orange, and the family photos had been replaced by photos of strangers.

But it gets worse: The woman now living there accused Nora of breaking into her house and called the cops. And it was Nora who ended up in custody for three days for alleged trespassing (the charges were later dropped).

The woman, it turns out, is Sarah Smalls, a nurse that Nora had hired three months prior to care for her ailing father.

“I hired her to care for him, not to steal from him,” she told Inside Edition.

Less than a month after Smalls was hired, Nora’s father was moved into a senior living facility. Then, Smalls was named as his power of attorney and the deed to his house was transferred to her for just $5. Bank statements also show money transfers from Nora’s father’s accounts to Smalls, before and after he died.

Now the onus is on Nora to file a civil lawsuit to try to get her father’s assets back.

What is elder financial abuse?

Elder fraud, elder financial abuse and elder financial exploitation (EFE) refer to the abuse of financial control or misappropriation of funds in a relationship with an elderly victim.

This can take several forms. It could be someone the victim knows, like a grandchild ‘borrowing’ money that’s never repaid. Or it could be criminals running an investment fraud scheme.

It could involve tricking, coercing or persuading a vulnerable senior into signing over Power of Attorney, in which the fraudster gains control of the senior’s finances, or signing over a property deed or vehicle title.

While Nora’s case is extreme, it’s not an anomaly. An AARP study found that victims of EFE over the age of 60 lose $28.3 billion in the U.S. each year. And in most (72%) of those cases, fraud is committed by someone the victim knows.

But EFE is “notoriously underreported,” according to Comparitech. Not all victims report EFE, especially if it’s committed by a family member. Maybe they’re ashamed or embarrassed, or maybe they simply aren’t aware it’s happening.

Social isolation and mental impairment — such as Alzheimer’s or dementia — can make an older adult more vulnerable to abuse, according to the National Council on Aging.

And while there are some protections in place — about half of states have “hold” laws in which banks can hold transactions if they suspect financial exploitation — there’s still much that needs to be done.

In the meantime, victims don’t have a lot of recourse.

“Getting restitution is nearly impossible, and re-earning that money takes time, when time is not on an older victim’s side,” according to the AARP report. “Victims often lose not only key resources that can jeopardize their current and future financial security but also a degree of their own dignity.”

How to protect your loved ones

Perhaps one of the most nefarious forms of elder financial abuse is when the victim is tricked into signing over Power of Attorney or property titles — even changing their will — essentially draining them of their assets and autonomy.

Ideally, you want to put protections in place while a loved one is still mentally capable of making decisions. A good starting point is to contact an elder law attorney, who can help set up a durable financial Power of Attorney or trust.

For example, with a durable financial Power of Attorney, Nora could have served as her father’s ‘agent’ to make financial decisions on his behalf, if he was unable to make those decisions for himself.

When hiring a caretaker or home nurse, use a licensed, bonded home care agency, and check their credentials and references thoroughly. Have the caregiver sign a formal contract (with your elder law attorney present) and ensure their access to your loved one’s finances is limited.

For example, rather than giving them access to the elder’s bank accounts, provide them with a prepaid debit card for groceries or other items. You can also arrange for ‘view only’ access to their bank accounts to monitor them for suspicious activity, such as unexplained bank withdrawals or transfers.

If you suspect fraud or theft, contact the police as well as your local Adult Protective Services agency. If your loved one is in a nursing home, call your Long-Term Care Ombudsman to intervene and advocate on your behalf.

In more extreme cases — say, a property deed was transferred or a will was changed while the elder was not of sound mind — that’s considered a form of elder financial abuse. In those cases, hire an elder law attorney. 

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She went to check on her elderly dad — he was gone and his caretaker had moved in. How this could happen to you