Mr. X was a 90-year-old male living alone in his home. His cognitive impairment, progressive dementia leading to delusion, and paranoia was affecting his daily living. His decreased memory led to poor judgment and bad decisions. As the situation became worse, he became more confused, suspicious and anxious, posing a danger to himself and others.

Mr. X’s family became aware he had become a victim of financial exploitation; however, they could not gain control of the situation from afar. Although estate planning documents were in place, the children did not have legal authority to act on their father’s behalf based on the language provision in the existing documents. The family proactively sought out Senior Advocacy Group to assist.

Our client was being financially defrauded out of thousands of dollars in online investment ventures. He was made to believe he was a member of an elite investment group guaranteed to make great gains in the stock market with cash contributions of $5,000 to $15,000. The fraudsters mailed our client iPads with pre-loaded programs designed to make him enter his credit card number, enabling them to collect up recurring charges. They would also mail burner phones so they could contact him without being traced.

In addition, our client was exhibiting compulsive shopping behaviors by engaging in online and mail order purchases of supplements touting cures for memory function improvement. Once on a marketing list, our client once again became easy prey for further financial abuse, with companies using his credit card and bank account information on file to enroll him in recurring purchase programs. It had become a game of cat and mouse.

Senior Advocacy Group partnered with the client’s family and obtained permission to swiftly address this financial abuse and establish safeguards to secure their father’s health and well-being

Senior Advocacy Group Outcome:

• Employed persistent recovery efforts to achieve asset recovery of over $80,000
• Implemented a financial protection plan that included credit and bank monitoring to abate suspicious activity or irregularities
• Partnered with family to place all bills on auto-debit, eliminating the need for our client to have access to credit cards or checking accounts
• Provided boots-on-the-ground care via weekly visits to client to ensure client is eating, in good health, and living in a safe environment
• Reported weekly findings to family
• Implemented and maintained a digital vault for all important papers and financial reports
• Coordinated and served as resource for finding service providers and caregivers such as a private chef, mental health experts, home maintenance referrals and administrative assistance

Ms. Y., an 83-year-old female with cognitive impairment, had no family. She fell prey to financial exploiters located both in the U.S. and out of the country who told her if she gave them thousands of dollars as good faith money, they were going to give her $6 million in return. In her pursuit to make a great return on her investment, Ms. Y proceeded over many years to deplete her assets by cashing in IRAs and retirement plans, drawing down on her home equity, selling all her valuable jewelry and artwork, and taking out cash advances on as many credit cards as she could manage. She would mail thousands of dollars in cash to them. They harassed her multiple times a day, communicating with untraceable burner phones. The perpetrators would send limousines to the victim’s home to transport her to various banks in town to withdraw money from ATMs. In failing health due to the increasing stress of her financial ruin, this vulnerable senior was on the brink of bankruptcy and soon to be homeless.

Senior Advocacy Group Outcome:

• Marshalled assets by freezing bank accounts, credit cards and lines of credit to keep the scammers from accessing any money.
• Gathered bills, brought payments up to date, and removed accounts from collection status
• Worked with law enforcement to report findings
• Inventoried home, administered and disposed of client’s personal and intangible property, prepared home for sale by hiring contractors to update and make repairs to the home to ensure a smooth sale
• Secured real estate agent, managed, negotiated and signed contract to dispose of real estate and placed proceeds in account to provide for the benefit, health and well-being of the client’s remaining life
• Filed a petition to determine incapacity with the court as a measure of last resort, and served as the court-appointed guardian to manage all medical issues, day-to-day living arrangements, surroundings, provided all care and support of the ward.
• Placed client and coordinated move from her home to a facility
• Applied and obtained health insurance benefits for client and coordinated all new in-network providers
• Sought, obtained and won Medicare Appeals while client in was hospital and rehab facility

Mr. & Mrs. Z were 90- and 95-year-old vulnerable adults with no family. They met with their estate planning attorney to place a Senior Advocacy Group representative as Healthcare Surrogate and Durable Power of Attorney to handle their medical and financial affairs when they no longer had the capacity to do so. Both individuals lived on a fixed income, with moderate savings.

When Senior Advocacy Group began working with the couple, they ashamedly admitted that they had been “taken.” The elderly couple explained they had befriended a woman who, over time, they regarded as family. When the woman began asking for furniture and household items, they complied since they were fond of her. However, on one occasion, the woman asked to borrow $25,000 for a two-week period.

Trusting their relationship with the woman, the couple did not have her sign a Promissory Note acknowledging the loan. They did, however, make a copy of the check they gave her and retained correspondence they had with her over time. Two weeks turned into four weeks; one year stretched into two years. The woman sent them a few payments, explaining she had been waiting on a legal settlement and would pay them back when the suit was settled. Then, she disappeared with no efforts to contact our clients. They were very distressed knowing they had lost their money, with no real hopes of recovering it.

Senior Advocacy Group took action to help recover the funds and give the couple peace of mind for the future.

Senior Advocacy Group Outcome:

• Tracked down the lawsuit in court records and determined the friend had indeed won a large settlement
• Researched and contacted the attorney representing the friend to ensure they were aware our clients had a Durable Power of Attorney in place for future needs and that the elderly couple currently had entrusted Senior Advocacy Group to ensure their money would be returned
• Maintained pressure on the borrower’s attorney and independently located the friend
• Memorialized the $25,000 loan into their estate planning documents to ensure their estate’s right to collect on the outstanding loan
• Continued pursuit to recover and return $25,000 in assets to our clients, who were confident that if Senior Advocacy Group had not taken action, they would not have received their money back
• Served as the incapacitated wife’s Durable Power of Attorney and Health Care Surrogate when the husband passed, since estate planning documents were proactively in place