OPINION: Florida Should Put Guardian Abuse Scammers Out of Business

by Lou Holtz
The legal system is supposed to protect the vulnerable, but too often it is manipulated into exploiting them. From coast to coast, guardianship and conservatorship abuse — where seniors are cheated and stripped of their liberty and property — is a glaring, yet underreported, example of this insidious phenomenon.

The hit Hollywood movie “I Care A Lot” and high-profile cases of guardianship and conservatorship abuse, like those of Britney Spears and Joann “Mama B” Bashinsky, have brought the issue to national attention, which long has been needed. But as a Florida resident, I’ve been aware of this disturbing practice for some time. I’ve taken measures to protect my family from this kind of abuse, but too many Americans remain unaware of just how widespread and terrible guardianship abuse and conservatorship abuse truly are.

Guardianship abuse may more correctly be thought of as guardian, medical and legal abuse, because without unethical, predatory individuals in all of those fields working together, such abuse is impossible carry out. It takes more than a corrupt guardian to do these terrible things — it takes a corrupt guardian, a corrupt lawyer, a corrupt doctor, often a corrupt nursing home or hospital and, finally, corrupt judges.

Guardianship laws and conservatorship laws are well-intentioned, designed to protect the truly incapacitated and vulnerable from those who would take advantage of them. But as Florida’s, and indeed America’s, guardianship-abuse epidemic shows, this system that was put in place to protect individuals from exploitation is far too often subverted to actually exploit them.

Legislators in Florida are trying to fix the problem, but there’s still a long way to go, and the issue needs far more attention at the national level from Congress. When a system designed to protect people can be easily twisted into a weapon to cause harm, there’s a serious problem. It’s time we end that problem in the guardianship system.

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Opinion: Florida should put guardians abuse scammers out of business

Opinion: Older people are targeted by scammers — even their own family members. How to protect them

By Michele Kryger

Many elderly people are vulnerable to deceit and abuse.
Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection

Netflix NFLX, +0.19% recently released I Care A Lot, a movie which centers on a seemingly saintly entrepreneur who runs a thriving business as a court-appointed guardian for elderly individuals who can no longer manage their own care. 

But there’s a catch: the character is systematically defrauding her vulnerable clients, conspiring with doctors and nursing home administrators to identify susceptible targets, seizing legal control of their lives, then auctioning off their assets to pay herself for her services.

The film has been a hit. According to Esquire.com,  I Care A Lot  vaulted into Netflix’s top 10, and its lead protagonist, Rosamund Pike, won a Golden Globe for her performance.

The exact nature of the scam that underpins I Care A Lot may be far-fetched, but the premise of elder financial abuse is grounded in reality and deserves far more attention and consideration. It continues to be a pervasive and expensive problem estimated to rob America’s vulnerable elderly of billions of dollars a year.

In the current environment, where new scams have emerged and social distancing has increased senior isolation, it’s paramount to take steps to safeguard seniors’ financial health from abuse. According to a 2019 AIG Life & Retirement survey, more than half of Americans (53%) say that elder financial abuse is likely to compromise their ability to live a long, financially secure life and nearly two-thirds (65%) say the same for a close relative or friend.

Heightening this concern, almost half (47%) of seniors 65 or older manage their finances—from paying bills to handling investments—entirely on their own. As a result, many leave themselves vulnerable to financial abuse, whether through financial scams perpetrated by strangers or financial exploitation conducted by family or friends. 

With 10,000 Americans turning 65 every day, the number of people living with cognitive decline is reaching unprecedented highs—leaving many vulnerable to manipulation, deceit and abuse.

Given the reality of cognitive decline, financial isolation comes with real risks. We believe that by building a system of checks and balances, seniors (together with their families and financial advisors) can more effectively safeguard their finances from exploitation, manipulation or financial imprudence.

• Families should consider having conversations as early as possible and involving several parties to build an infrastructure of protection.
• Financial advisers can serve as an added line of defense, acting as an impartial third party, staying alert for red flags, facilitating family conversations and using protective tools like trusted contact and power of attorney.
• Employers can also educate employees and retirees to protect against potential threats of scams, lessening stress and boosting productivity.

Some common types of elder financial exploitation to look out for include:

• IRS impersonation scams: Calls from the IRS claiming that you will be arrested if you don’t pay up on missing taxes. Keep in mind that government agencies rarely call people. If they do it will be only after sending you a letter first or calling you back. If the alleged government agency calls and asks for sensitive personal information or a wire transfer, it’s a scam. Also remember not to trust caller ID—scammers can disguise their number.

• Robocalls and unsolicited phone calls: According to the Federal Communications Commission, there are nearly 2.4 billion robocalls made every month. Today, phone calls can be digitized and routed from anywhere in the world. Don’t give out personal information unless you initiated the call.

• Lottery/sweepstakes scams: Seniors are made to believe that they have won a lottery and need to pay a fee to collect their winnings. After seniors send the money via prepaid debit card, electronic wire transfer, money order or cash, they get 50-100 phone calls a day demanding more money.

• Grandparent scams: Imposters pretend to be your grandchild or an authority figure holding your grandchild. They claim the grandchild is in trouble and needs money to help with an emergency, tricking grandparents to wire them money. Scammers say not to alert the grandchild’s parents. Ask some simple questions that only your grandchild would know the answer to.

• COVID-19 scams: The Federal Trade Commission has sounded the alarm on products falsely claiming to treat or prevent the novel coronavirus, as well as fake charities. Be wary of alleged government calls to set up COVID-19 tests and avoid phishing emails touting vaccinations and home test kits.

Whether family lives minutes away or on the other side of the country, staying in touch with an aging loved one can help prevent senior isolation, reassure the senior that they can rely on family if they become victimized by fraudsters, and help family spot signs of cognitive decline or abuse.

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Opinion: Older people are targeted by scammers — even their own family members. How to protect them