Reporters Roundtable

7/26/2019 Reporters Roundtable

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Seniors and their familieslose $3 billion a year to con artists.

What can we do to stop them?

A CryingShame

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Christi Schoenbachler, drained Brooks ofjewelry, furniture, and an annuity worthalmost ,, and abandoned her at anursing facility, according to court documents. Tey were convicted of grand theftand financial elder abuse, both felonies,and two counts of misdemeanor elderabuse. Last summer, a California appealscourt stayed one of Schoenbachlers misdemeanor charges.

Elder financial abuse is the ultimatebetrayal, says Colleen oy White, a superior court judge in Ventura County, Calif.,

who sees roughly cases of such abuseeach month. Its shocking to see how vulnerable the elder person is.

Weve told you about scams by strangers,among them fraudulent sweepstakesphone calls and investments, and grandparent scams Scamnation!, October issue. Far more insidious are deceptions by neighbors, friends, employees,and relativesthe very people entrustedto care for and protect seniors.

Such abuse can be financially and emotionally devastating. And experts say itslikely to increase because of a stalled econ

omy and an aging population. Awarenessis rising thanks to cases such as Astors. Yetbecause seniors might not recognize whenit happens to them or are too ashamed tospeak, the crime lurks largely out of sight.

In a randomized New York telephonesurvey released in , for instance,seniors mentioned being victims of financial exploitation more frequently than anyother type of abuse. Yet the study estimatedthat only in incidents of financial elder

1 BY THE NUMBERS

Thats the estimated rate of financial

elderabuse cases that are everdocumented, according to a New

York state elderabuse study.

in

Protecting Mom& Dads moneyWhat to do when you suspect financial abuse

T called itthe swindle trial. Jurors likenedit to a Shakespearean tragedy.When New York socialite Anthony

D. Marshall was convicted of defraudingand stealing from his elderly mother, philanthropist Brooke Astor, reports detailedhow he conspired with lawyer Francis Morrissey to amend her will in his favor, tookmillions without her consent, and liftedpaintings from her walls while she languished in her Park Avenue home. Te trialpainted a portrait of greed and filialneglect. Both men were sentenced to one

to three years in prison and are currentlyout pending appeal.

Elsie Brookss lifestyle was a world apartfrom Astors, but their stories are tragically similar. When she was she sold hermobile home and moved in with herdaughter and granddaughter in Monterey,Calif. She decided she didnt want to dealwith her finances any longer and let thetwo take control. But her daughter, LisaKaren MacAdams, and granddaughter,

BREACH OF TRUST

Arthur Green ofBrooks, Maine, fought

back when he says hisrelatives tried to evicthim from his home.

PHOTO:MARTISTONEPHOTOGRAPHY


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