Articles
Spot Elder Financial Abuse
03/04/2019
Elder financial abuse can take many forms. These are some signs that there may be a problem.
Understanding Undue Influence
10/05/2018
Understanding Undue Influence PRACTICE TIP • October 2018 David Godfrey, American Bar Association Comission on Law and Aging Understanding undue influence is a core component of advising clients in their advance planning, as well as preventing and spotting elder abuse. Undue influence replaces the will or free choice of the individual with the will or choice of another person....
12 Scams of Christmas
09/10/2018
The 2017 Thanksgiving weekend saw one million more Americans than last year out shopping and the holiday spending is just beginning. The National Retail Federation (NRF) expects this year’s holiday retail sales to top last year’s by 3.6 percent to 4 percent for a total between $678.75 billion to $682 billion. As shoppers set records on spending Better Business Bureau® urges...
Don't Be Misled by False Medicare or Social Security Ads
08/16/2018
Posted on August 16, 2018 by Jim Borland, Acting Deputy Commissioner for Communications Online and otherwise, there’s a lot of information out there, and sometimes it’s difficult to tell what sources are credible. With millions of people relying on Social Security, scammers target audiences who are looking for program and benefit information. The law that addresses misleading...
Spotting the Signs of Elder Abuse
08/14/2018
A Public Health Issue That Affects Us All
06/15/2018
Elder abuse is a critical social, health, and economic problem. Approximately 10 percent of adults age 60 and older have experienced physical abuse, psychological or verbal abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation. Older Americans lose an estimated $2.9 billion a year as a result of financial exploitation. In the most heartbreaking cases, it means the complete loss of savings...
Full Audit: Grand Rapids Home for Veterans didn't check patients, study complaints
02/18/2016
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- A state audit says workers at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans falsely claimed they were checking on patients after being alerted of possible falls, failed to properly investigate allegations of abuse and neglect, and took too long to fill prescriptions. The veterans home also continued with inadequate staffing levels even as the state filed four complaints against...
What's wrong with stealing from Grandma? Plenty
07/14/2015
She reached her childhood dream: to one day carry a briefcase and wear nice clothes and provide for her family. But at 73, now retired and mostly homebound, the former business manager says home health care workers, over time, have carried away pieces of her life — new dresses still in garment bags, jewelry, silverware, $40 from her purse. "I'm angry and frustrated,"...
Brothers accused of embezzling from father who suffered from dementia
04/30/2015
GRAND RAPIDS TOWNSHIP, MI – A pair of brothers are accused of embezzling more than $81,000 from their father in the last year of his life. Scott and William Grondman Jr. face charges of embezzling from a vulnerable adult after Kent County Sheriff's Department investigators say they wrote checks for their own use from the account of their 84-year-old father, William...
Woman accused of stealing money from elderly aunt with dementia agrees to plea deal, repayment-
09/08/2014
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – A Grand Rapids woman police say drained the bank account of her 88-year-old aunt faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison after pleading no contest to a charge of embezzlement from a vulnerable adult. Patricia Elaine Licari, 62, was set to have a trial Monday, Sept. 8, but instead pleaded no contest to a reduced charge that cut the potential maximum in...
