Man arrested on attempted robbery, elder abuse charges

by: Natalie Sierra 

(FOX40.COM) — A 44-year-old man was arrested on Sunday after punching another man and demanding money from them on Friday, according to the Stockton Police Department.

Police said a 73-year-old victim was asleep on his bed around 7 a.m. on Saturday when the suspect entered his room.

The suspect proceeded to punch the victim repeatedly and then demanded money from him.

Police said the victim was left with non-life-threatening injuries.

The suspect was later arrested on charges of attempted robbery and elder abuse.

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Man arrested on attempted robbery, elder abuse charges

Man wanted for elder exploitation arrested in Florida

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Man wanted for elder exploitation arrested in Florida

Chicago man arrested for allegedly scamming older victims to pay gold bars to rid of warrants

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Chicago man arrested for allegedly scamming older victims to pay gold bars to rid of warrants

Man arrested on suspicion of scamming elder adult in Stanislaus out of $30k. How it happened

By Dominique Williams

The Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man on suspicion of elder abuse after he allegedly scammed an older adult out of $30,000. 

Zhongqiang Chen, a 35-year-old male from Oakland, was booked Nov. 14 on additional charges including false or fraudulent representation, using a forged access card to obtain more than $400 and grand theft of more than $400 dollars.

On Nov. 12, an elderly female received a scam email of someone posing as McAfee Customer Service, telling her that her antivirus program had expired. 

The victim responded to the email and connected with a scammer, who took control of her computer, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

The scammer transferred $60,000 from her money market account into her checking account. He then convinced the victim she owed him $60,000. 

The victim gave him an initial payment of $30,000.

On Nov. 13, the scammer called the victim and demanded the remaining $30,000. He told her he would arrange to pick up the money the following day. 

The victim told her son about the pickup, and her son contacted law enforcement. The Stanislaus Sheriff’s Office General Crimes Unit immediately began investigating the case, according to a news release. 

An undercover operation was conducted Nov. 14. Undercover detectives waited for the scammer to pick up the money at the victim’s residence. 

Around 12:30 p.m. that day, Chen was arrested when he arrived at the victim’s home as . He is being held on a $110,000 bail.

The case is still under investigation, and it is unknown if there are any additional victims or suspects.

Common scams targeting older adults in Stanislaus County 

The Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office said scammers are “good at pretending to be from an organization” and that they will often tell you there is a problem, for example: that you owe money to the government, that someone in your family had an emergency, there is a problem with your bank account or a virus on your computer. Others will say you won a lottery or sweepstakes, but you must first pay a fee. 

Scammers will pressure you to act immediately, according to the Sheriff’s Office. If not, there will be consequences, like arrest or suspension of privileges. They will ask you to pay using a specific method, such as an app or money order.

The average amount of money scammed from victims under age 19 is $250, Byron Nelson, an attorney at Stanislaus County’s Senior Advocacy Network-Senior Law Project, told The Modesto Bee in May 2023. The average amount scammed from victims age 80 and over is $1,500. 

“Some of it is opportunity,” Nelson said at the time. “Older adults are in their home and a lot of them are retired and they are the ones that will open the door, they are the ones that will answer the phone.”

Some common scams that have targeted local senior citizens in the county, according to Senior Law Project, include:

• Romance scams
  
• Banking scams
  
• Solar scams 
• Medicare scams 
• Investment scams 
• Sweepstakes and lottery scams 
• Grandparent scams 
• Tech support scams 
• Refund scams 
• Account verification scams 
• Financial scams 
• Health care scams 
• Identity theft 
• Home repair/improvement scams 
• Telephone and internet scams 
• Phishing scams 
• Online shopping scams 
• Charity scams 
• Government stimulus/grant scams 

The Office of the Attorney General has detailed some of these scams on its website.

How to prevent being scammed 

To avoid scams, do not provide personal or financial information in response to a request you did not make, the Sheriff’s Office says. Honest organizations will not call, email, or text to ask for personal information, according to police. 

“Please resist the pressure to act immediately,” the news release read. “An honest business will give you time to make a decision. Please stop and talk to someone you trust before you do anything else.” 

The Senior Law Project recommends these tips to avoid becoming a victim of a scam: 

• If you don’t recognize the phone number, you don’t have to answer the phone 
• If a company calls and requests money or information, hang up and call the number listed online 
• If your child or grandchild calls to ask for money, hang up and call to see if there really is trouble
• Before signing an electric contract, request a paper copy in your native language and review it 
• You can’t win something if you haven’t entered 
• If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

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Man arrested on suspicion of scamming elder adult in Stanislaus out of $30k. How it happened

Semmes man arrested on secret indictment for alleged attempted rape of elderly woman

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Semmes man arrested on secret indictment for alleged attempted rape of elderly woman

Man arrested in elderly exploitation case after credit union employees spot 'red flags'

By Pat Reavy

SANDY — Police arrested a man who they say tried to get an elderly woman with dementia to withdraw money from her financial account.

Brian David Page, 57, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of robbery, intentional financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult, disorderly conduct and making a threat of violence.

About 3 p.m. Tuesday, Page entered Mountain America Credit Union, 858 E. 9400 South, with an 82-year-old woman. The woman suffers from dementia and Page lives with her and is her "caretaker," according to a police booking affidavit.

However, police say the woman's son is her power of attorney "and is the only person that is able to make transactions on her account," not Page.

"Brian entered the bank and demanded that bank tellers give him $150 from the elderly female's account with her present. Bank tellers attempted to engage with the female but were unable to as Brian overrode her attempts at talking and demanded that he was in charge. Bank tellers recognized the red flags," the affidavit states.

After contacting the woman's son, credit union employees told Page they would not give him money. Employees say Page became "agitated" and told a teller to step outside so they could fight, according to the affidavit.

"Brian was asked to leave the premises and he refused several times to leave before exiting the building. Brian quickly came back inside the bank in an agitated manner, alarming the bank tellers and other patrons while telling the bank teller 'he would fight them and police outside,'" the affidavit alleges.

When the elderly woman was questioned, she said she did not know what she was doing at the credit union. Police arrived and took Page into custody.

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Man arrested in elderly exploitation case after credit union employees spot 'red flags'

Man arrested for taking mother’s Social Security benefits; body found while serving eviction notice

By Jessica Goodman

(Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office/Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office)

KANAWHA COUNTY, W.Va. — Investigators serving an eviction notice reportedly found a body inside a house in Belle, West Virginia, on Thursday.

In a news release, Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office said its Legal Process Division, along with Belle Police Department officers, went to a house to serve an eviction notice due to “suspicious signs coming from inside of the home.” It appeared that no one was home. The eviction notice was for Peggy Johnson.

Belle Police Department officers made their way into the house and found a body that was decomposing, the sheriff’s office said. They soon after got out of the house and called for assistance.

The body was so badly decomposed that investigators could not figure out what the gender was, according to WSAZ.

Investigators say the body was sent for an autopsy at the West Virginia State Medical Exmainer’s Office.

Once investigators got a search warrant for the house, they went inside and found a man hiding in the closet. He was later identified by the sheriff’s office as Michael Robert Johnson, 41.

Johnson was detained and reportedly told investigators that he was living with his mother, Peggy Johnson, according to the sheriff’s office. He said he had been living with her for about two to three years. He then said that she died in December 2022 in their house.

Peggy Johnson had been receiving Social Security benefits, which were about $1,000 per month, the sheriff’s office said. Johnson told investigators that he continued to get her benefits and used them after she died with the amount being about five to six thousand dollars.

Johnson has been charged with obtaining money, property, and services by false pretenses, and disposing of property to defraud creditors, according to WSAZ.

The sheriff’s office said Johnson is considered a person of interest in the death investigation.

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Man arrested for taking mother’s Social Security benefits; body found while serving eviction notice

Limestone Co. man arrested for alleged financial exploitation of his mother

By Charles Montgomery

ATHENS, Ala. (WAFF) - A Limestone County man was arrested on Wednesday after he allegedly wrote seven checks to himself and took money from his mother.

According to a spokesperson for the Athens Police Department, a mother filed a report on Jan. 17 and said her son wrote seven checks to himself from her. The checks were worth about $8,000.

Gary Graham, 47, was arrested and charged with financial exploitation of the elderly.

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Limestone Co. man arrested for alleged financial exploitation of his mother

Crime Alert: Sheriff's Office says Mobile man beat 81-year-old stepfather

by Karris Harmon

MOBILE, Ala. (WPMI) — The Mobile County Sheriff’s Office received a domestic violence complaint between a father and son last week. Deputies say the 56-year-old stepson, Kim Griffin, physically assaulted his 81-year-old stepfather, Willie McCall. The sheriff’s office says to call it what it is: elder abuse. After the assault, the victim, Willie McCall had to go to the hospital for injuries to the back, mouth, face, and neck.

"This guy's a coward. Basically, beat his 81-year-old dad," said Captain Paul Burch.

56-year-old Kim Aundrea Griffin is in the Mobile Metro County Jail, charged with domestic violence strangulation, elderly abuse, and robbery of his 81-year-old stepfather Willie McCall. Griffin was trying to get McCall to sign over his power of attorney-giving griffin access to his finances, vehicle, and estate. When McCall refused to sign...

"The stepson who's 56 years old threw him against the cabinet, knocked him to the floor, and when he was on the floor began to choke and strangle him then beat him in the face," said Burch.

The stepson didn't stop there. Before taking the keys of the victim’s car:

"The stepson made the victim take off his bloody clothes and change into other clothes in case anyone was to come over, took the bloody clothes with him," said Burch.

Unfortunately, what happened to Willie McCall is not uncommon in Alabama. Commissioner of the AL Department of Senior Services, Jean Brown, says it happens more than you think.

"11,000 cases reported. For every one of those reported cases, it's estimated that there are 23 cases that are ongoing and occurring that are never reported," said Brown. "11,000 would be just the tip of the iceberg."

Brown tells me it's common for an elder to be abused by someone close to them like a family member. It's hard to say how long willie McCall was enduring this abuse.

"What makes that so sad, is that quite often it’s very hard for a parent to report their son or daughter. They love their son or daughter and in addition to that if the son or daughter does not take care of them, they may not have anyone else," said Brown.

Burch says the incident occurred over a financial dispute and that McCall is okay. Commissioner Brown says financial abuse can be one that goes unrecognized because the victim may not be aware that someone taking advantage of them.

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Crime Alert: Sheriff's Office says Mobile man beat 81-year-old stepfather

Columbia man arrested on charges of deceptive business practices

By Emma J. Murphy

Blake Mahoney, the owner of MO State Construction, was arrested Thursday morning and charged with deceptive business practices and the financial exploitation of elderly and/or disabled people.

Mahoney, 28, and his construction company are accused of failing to follow through on contracted work despite receiving money upfront for the jobs.

The Better Business Bureau has received eight complaints over the past three years about Mahoney and MO State Construction’s failure to deliver on its promised services. Four of these complaints have been in the past 12 months.

According to Better Business Bureau files, a Columbia woman reported that she hired the contractor in 2020 to replace her roof and siding. She paid $8,000 to the business in two installments, but the woman said the project was abandoned after she submitted the second check.

A woman from Gravois Mills told the Better Business Bureau she hired the company in 2019 to build a garage and do excavation work on her property near the Lake of the Ozarks. She paid the company $25,000, but only some excavation work was done before the builder left and kept the down payment.

Complaints to the bureau reveal a pattern of taking payment from clients for materials that were never delivered, failing to communicate and not issuing refunds.

In February 2021, the bureau gave MO State Construction the lowest grade available: F. It has warned Columbia residents to avoid using Mahoney’s services because of the history of unfinished construction projects.

Mahoney’s next hearing is scheduled for Feb. 7. He is being held in the Boone County Jail, and his bail has been set at $100,000 cash.

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Columbia man arrested on charges of deceptive business practices

GBI: Man arrested in elderly exploitation case

Jeffery Hires was arrested in connection to an elderly exploitation case. (Source: Brooks County Jail)

THOMASVILLE, Ga. (WALB) - A man was arrested and is facing exploitation charges in three different counties, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Jeffrey Hires, 31, is facing two counts each of exploitation and intimidation of disabled adults, elderly persons, and residents in Brooks, Colquitt and Thomas counties. He was arrested in Camden County on unrelated, outstanding warrants and then taken to Brooks County Jail on Jan. 27. He was later taken to Thomas County Jail to be served arrest warrants and then served with the Colquitt and Brooks warrants after his release there, according to the GBI.

The charges stem from a theft investigation surrounding an elderly couple in Brooks County, according to the GBI.

The GBI began an investigation in November 2020.

The investigation found that more than $20,000 was stolen.

“Agents expect that number to increase as they receive additional financial records related to the thefts from various businesses,” the GBI said in a release.

The victims’ bank card was inappropriately used at various locations in Brooks, Colquitt and Thomas counties, according to the GBI.

Additional charges are expected to be presented at grand jury when presented in Brooks, Thomas and Colquitt County at a later date,” the release states.

Anyone with information on this case is asked to call the GBI Region 9 Thomasville office at (229) 225-4090.

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GBI: Man arrested in elderly exploitation case

Fayette County man arrested for alleged financial exploitation of elderly family member

FAYETTE COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) – A man from Fayetteville was arrested for allegedly wiping out an elderly family member’s bank accounts to help fuel an alleged drug habit, the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department says.

Chad Surface, 43, faces 38 felony charges, including financial exploitation of an elderly person, 10 counts of identity theft, one count of grand larceny, 11 counts of attempt of fraudulent use of an access device and two counts of forgery.

Investigators say Surface cleaned out the victim’s bank accounts and sold personal property to, in part, feed his alleged drug habit.

Surface was taken to the Southern Regional Jail. His bond is set at $100,000.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Fayette County Sheriff's Department at 304-574-3590, go to its Facebook page "Fayette County Sheriff's Department," or call Crime Stoppers of West Virginia at 304-255-STOP.

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Fayette County man arrested for alleged financial exploitation of elderly family member