Statistics do not lie - somewhere in Warren County today, an elderly person will be abused.

That person may not be physically abused. The abuse may be verbal or mental, which are just as damaging in their own way.

Based on statewide figures, dozens of Warren County seniors were victims of abuse in 2006.

Governor Rod R. Blagojevich and the Illinois Department on Aging (IDOA) launched the third annual statewide “Break the Silence” campaign and proclaimed July Elder Abuse Awareness Month in Illinois.

New bill would make it a crime

Justice Minister Rob Nicholson says identity theft is a “type of elder abuse” and he intends to table a federal bill to make it a crime.

Nicholson confirmed he is preparing a piece of legislation to update the Criminal Code to deal with the modern-day problem, which is suspected of claiming thousands of victims in Canada every month.

“I intend to move forward,” Nicholson told CanWest News Service. “It’s a developing area and what we find is there are gaps in the law.”

Agencies work to develop strategies to better protect elderly residents

Looking only to help someone she thought she could trust, 73-year-old Troy resident Violet List opened her home to a 17-year-old acquaintance last October.

According to police and prosecutors, List lost her life as result of that decision.

Anthony Robert Strozier stands charged with first-degree murder after allegedly trying to steal a Social Security check in List’s name from her 38-year-old daughter.

State’s aid to program unchanged for four years, while cases rise sharply.

A year ago, Sacramento County sheriff’s deputies rescued a 77-year-old woman in the predawn hours from her home, where she had been beaten and held hostage.

After officers arrested her son and crime scene investigators collected evidence, county social worker David Van Brunt got to work: He helped the victim file an emergency restraining order, took more pictures once welts became more apparent on her chest and left arm, and stood by her side when she needed someone to fight for her.

“When David showed up, he was so knowledgable and so confident and so sure of himself, it gave her a comfort that I couldn’t give her,” said a relative, who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution from the son. “He represented an agency that protected the elderly. They had the authority to do something.”

The California Bankers Association (CBA) continues its partnership with The Edcomm Group to deliver elder financial abuse training to banks in the state of California.

Last fall, this collaboration resulted in Focus on California Elder Financial Abuse, an eLearning program that was distributed with the help and promotion of CBA to banks throughout California. Included is the use of Learning Link®, Edcomm’s own learning management system, for tracking and certification.

Dr. Linda Eagle, President of the Edcomm Group, said, “We’re thrilled that the CBA continues to use this EFA training program. California banks are dedicated to protecting their customers, especially the elderly who are targeted persistently.”

A piece in the Sunday New York Times tells the sad story of Richard Guthrie, a 92-year-old man who was defrauded of his life savings through an elaborate scheme perpetrated by criminals posing as telemarketers.

These evil people take advantage of elders like Mr. Guthrie, who are particularly susceptible to fraud because they may be too trusting or lonely, and in dire financial straits. In Guthrie’s case, he was living on the $800 per month he receives from Social Security. He passed the time since his wife passed away by entering sweepstakes contests, and the promoters frequently, and knowingly, sold his personal information to unscrupulous people.

Elder fraud strikes me as the most evil of white-collar crimes, and I did some looking around on the internet for resources for understanding and preventing the financial abuse of the elderly.

Senior citizens are the county’s fastest growing population. Unfortunately crimes against the elderly are also on the rise.

“It could happen to me, it could happen to her, it could happen to any of the men or women in this room,” said Yvonne Clark.

Clark is one of 200 senior citizens who attended a program organized by local senior organizations, Savannah Chatham Metropolitan Police and Chatham County prosecutors. It’s called the SALT Council. SALT stands for Seniors and Law Enforcement Together. It was a record crowd for this annual event.

Very few people are willing to sign a paper that results in a family member’s incarceration. Why would anyone even consider such an action? On the surface this seems utterly absurd. This could never happen and to even suggest such a thing is ridicules. Anyone that proposes this idea is treading on thin ice and is about to make me angry.

This is the base of a serious problem. People that trust friends and family members unconditionally are very vulnerable for abuse. The older one gets the more likely this trust is used against senior citizens and the disabled.

This is not meant to have people distrust other family members or to cause problems within a family. However Musa Ansari, from Jefferson Area Board on Aging said that …”Our case managers tend to deal with more abuse by family members and care-givers. In the last five years the number of criminal investigations for elderly and disabled exploitations has almost tripled.

It’s something, most of us, at some time, must do — find someone dependable to take care of aging parents and grandparents. KSL discovered what can happen when you hire the wrong people.

Our investigations don’t normally focus on just one victim, but this is one outrageous plot you need to hear about. It demonstrates exactly why older Americans are prime targets for bad guys: they’re trusting and they’ve got a lot of money. As we found out, some thieves are literally moving in to clean you out.

Rebecca O’Brien’s grandmother, Bernice Pollei, loved her independence, but at 91 years of age, the Holladay woman needed some help.

Rep. Peter King is trying to build support for a bill that would get more money to fight elder abuse, a problem he describes as “underground” because it’s generally known about but rarely discussed.

King (R-Seaford), who has a strong reputation for outspokenness, is working with House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) to push through a law that would set aside around $650 million a year for detecting, prosecuting and researching abuse.

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