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.

With the steady prevelance of Medicare abuse and fraud, one local organization is going to area seniors and educating them on how to keep their information safe.

In 2006, more than $19 billion in Medicare fraud was reported.

“That’s a lot of money,” said Ellie Donnelly, a referral specialist from ServiceLink Resource Center. “Just like anything else, the cost of Medicare goes up because of this loss of money.”

Numerous cases of suspected elder abuse will continue to fall through the cracks because the Legislature failed to pass a measure that would have broadened state protections for those vulnerable to such harm, the bill’s proponents said yesterday.

The bill faltered in the waning days of the session partly because of concerns about funding.

The measure was designed to plug a gap in the state’s Adult Protective Services system that results in scores of suspected abuse cases going unchecked or unreported because the cases don’t meet the stringent criteria for what the government is authorized to investigate.

Rising caseloads and no recent funding increases have counties across the state struggling to investigate abuse of the elderly.

Cases like these:

A frail, 87-year-old woman whose daughter has put her house up for sale and who has reportedly told neighbors she is placing her mom in a nursing home.

A 73-year-old mentally disabled man who is in danger of losing his home, an apparent victim of predatory lending.

A 91-year-old woman with dementia, whose granddaughter’s boyfriend has reportedly been cashing checks she has signed.

These are among the incidents that Adult Protective Services agencies all over are investigating as caseloads soar and funding remains stagnant.

As the population of the United States ages, the demands placed on the medical system to care for the elderly are becoming overwhelming.

There are approximately thirty-four million people over the age of 65. Nearly one in twenty will require some form of assisted living. Unfortunately, our senior citizens are becoming victims of intentional abuse and neglect within nursing homes and assisted living facilities. While it is difficult enough to place a family member in a home, it is even more difficult to see that family member suffer under the care of an abusive, overburdened, and under trained nursing home staff.

The National Center for Elder Abuse and numerous nursing home abuse articles report that neglect of our senior citizens’ basic needs is the number one type of elder abuse. Physical abuse by caregivers ranks as the second most common form of elder mistreatment. Almost one million senior citizens are victimized each year.

Elder abuse awareness month is quickly approaching and there are several ways you can become more involved and educated.

Senior citizens are thankful to have a safe place to meet everyday and friends to share their time with. But other elders throughout eastern Kentucky and the country are dealing with a growing problem.

Elder abuse is something that affects us all,” says Stacie Noble of KRADD. “It can affect your parents it can affect your grandparents and create awareness in the community on who to report to what the physical signs are.”

There are several ways noble says elders are abused. Some are physically abused while others are taken advantage of through financial scams.

To all of the disreputable criminals out there: your practice of preying on senior citizens just got a bit tougher.

The New York State Senate last week passed a bill that would subject anyone convicted of harming a senior citizen with increased jail time.

The bill, which is currently being mulled over by the Assembly, would turn any assault against a senior citizen over the age of 70 into a class D or E felony, which carries a penalty of seven years of prison time.

Seniors are frequently reluctant to involve police or social-service agencies, officials say.

The elderly can be victims of abuse in many of the same ways as the young, but with fewer eyes watching and more perceived social taboos, professionals say.

Data indicate only a a quarter of all senior abuse cases are referred for help - the rest remain hidden.

That compares to a report rate of about 60 percent of all family violence incidents, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Banking lobbyists argued Wednesday against a bill that makes it a misdemeanor for a bank employee to not report financial abuse of an elderly person, saying it could make criminals out of bank tellers.

AB87 expands an existing law that requires reporting elder abuse to include employees of financial institutions that deal directly with someone 60 or older or that review their financial transactions.

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