A modest audience listened to members of the Lincoln County Abuse Task Force June 14, during a panel discussion on elder abuse, focusing particularly on financial fraud and predators, held at the Lincoln Home in Newcastle.
The goal was introducing and informing the audience on each of the various agencies’ roles and services.
It was clear from the discussion, the professionals advocate prevention and education regarding financial exploitation and fraud, since, after the fact, little money is hardly ever retrieved.
According to moderator Cindy Leavitt, Lincoln County Healthcare senior vice president of hospital operations, the Lincoln County Abuse Task Force was formed in 2010 as a community-based forum in which professionals and specialists from various disciplines come together to find solutions to elder abuse.
“The mission is to reduce occurrences of domestic violence and elder abuse through prevention, education, identification and prosecution,” Leavitt said. “The task force is committed to raising public awareness of abuse and improving the systems and services that support victims, families and concerned others.”
On the panel were Rick Mooers, director for Dept. of Health and Human Services Adult Protective Services; Lori Parham with AARP in Maine; Gail Richardson, president and CEO of Midcoast Federal Credit Union; Lincoln County Sheriff Office Det. Robert (Bob) McFetridge; and, District Attorney Geoff Rushlau, for Sagadahoc, Lincoln, Knox and Waldo counties.
Also in attendance were other task force members including New Hope For Women Lincoln County Community Educator Tina Tucker; Jen Hemingway of Sexual Assault Support Services of Midcoast Maine (SASSMM); Athena Taylor and Debbie Mullen, chair of Lincoln County TRIAD.
Mooers had good news to report – telephone company Fairpoint has dedicated a staffer 100 percent of the time to “interdiction of financial fraud and exploitation.” Mooers said the company views the financial exploitation of elders through the telephone as an important focus.
Of his services, Mooers said the Adult Protective Services is charged with investigating abuse, neglect and exploitation of elders that are dependent or incapacitated. “There are other avenues to deal with crimes in general, whether the victims are young or old, but adult protective services can only help those incapacitated or dependent.
Mooers used the term “violence” when discussing financial exploitation of elders, since those who have been victimized, statistics show, will suffer psychologically, and suffer a loss of dignity.
“They develop heart problems, hypertension, lose hope, helplessness, are worried about becoming a burden, give up and unfortunately they die. That’s ‘violence’,” he said.
There are two kinds of financial exploitation, according to Mooers – one is fraud, “when 95 percent of the time, you don’t know the perpetrator,” and the other is exploitation by friends or family.
According to Mooers, if a family has concerns, Adult Protective Services can investigate and possibly build a case.
“Usually by the time we’re involved lots of damage has been done…not much to do to get it [money] back…,” Mooers said.
With telephone calls, Mooers advised, “Just hang up. The biggest enemy of fraud is time. Slow the process down because they want it [money] now. There’s pressure to give now. If you believe there’s an attempt being made to perpetrate fraud, just say, ‘mail it to me.’ If you take too much time; they’ll leave you alone.”
Other tips included not using “personal stuff” for notes and lists. “Don’t use deposit slips, old checks to make out grocery lists,” or anything that can give a perpetrator information.
“Never, ever…ever give information about yourself to anyone you don’t know,” Mooer said. “Identity theft is the crime of the 21st century.”
Lori Parham said though many believe the typical victim is a widowed woman, “men are a large and growing target – they’re losing a lot of money through investments, when they’re told something is a ‘sure thing…quick deal.'”
“As things start to go south, the last thing they do is ask for help,” Parham said.
Parham’s tip from AARP regarding investment fraud: “Think twice when you hear profit is guaranteed and there’s ‘no risk; just make the check out to me.'”
Parham recommended using the tools online through the financial regulatory authorities to check people out who are selling.
Banker Gail Richardson remembered when she started working, “I didn’t have to worry that checks weren’t real,” but today, Richardson said daily someone tries to cash a check for “money they think they’ve won. Often, we the first line of defense.”
Richardson also described exploitation comes in “forms where a family member is exploiting mother and trying to force them to give money or give loans.
“A younger person wants a loan and they get grandmother, who can ill-afford it, to give money and sign loan papers. They think they are helping a grandchild, and when that grandchild doesn’t make the payments, that’s serious.”
Richardson’s tip concerned theft: “Check your credit report every year, and don’t ever throw your statements in the trash; shred them. Once it’s gone, it is extremely difficult to get any money back.”
LCSO Det. Robert McFetridge said his department is involved with educating the public as well.
“From my perspective it is a heck of a lot easier to me for prevention than doing much when it has happened,” he said.
McFetridge’s job is also to investigate if a crime has been committed. A favorite tool of McFetridge’s is Caller ID. “It’s wonderful,” he said. “If you don’t recognize the number, or it doesn’t have legitimate business with you, don’t talk to them.”
Two Lincoln County cases of exploitation concerned victims who knew their perpetrators. “They had gained confidence over years and slowly started siphoning off their life savings until there was nothing left,” McFetridge said. “The biggest thing I can ask: if you have a friend and think something is wrong – report it. We can check it out and it can be perfectly legit.”
District Attorney Geoff Rushlau said often elder financial exploitation and fraud is difficult to prosecute. “Both involve loss to the victim, but sometimes that is not criminal behavior,” Rushlau said.
To be a prosecutable crime, the criminal behavior has to fit the Maine Statutes. “We encounter wrong conduct, but it doesn’t fit a criminal statue and there’s nothing to do to punish the people,” Rushlau said. “Restitution might be ordered.
“We try to see if it fits within a criminal statute and we try to determine if we are going to be able to prove that it was a crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Often, it can sound like Mt. Everest, but it is the essence of criminal justice in the state.”
Rushlau did say however, “it is important that simply because it can’t be addressed by police and prosecution, doesn’t mean there’s no remedy.”
Options according to Rushlau are many, and he pointed out elder abuse issues are of various kinds with an array of different responses possible.
“It is simply not a police response,” Rushlau said. “It can be adult protective services, legal services for the elderly or civil legal help. Bring it [exploitation] to the attention of family or friends, to adult protective services, and bring it to the attention of someone who can do something – the church, or a social group. Don’t be isolated,”
Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office: 882-7332, Det. Robert McFetridge
District Attorney Geoffrey Rushlau: 882-7312 in Wiscasset.
New Hope For Women, Tina Tucker: 563-2404.
Lincoln County Triad, Deborah Mullen: 633-7874.
Sexual Assault Support Services Midcoast Maine, Jennifer Hemingway: 1-800-822-5999 or 725-1500.
