Scammers will send official-looking communications from government agencies hoping potential fraud victims will reveal private information.
he wasn’t using the money for construction purposes. “That’s a violation of the law,” she says. Among the challenges for prosecutors, they must prove that the accused knew the victim was 65 or older and unable to give consent. Rodriguez recalls a woman who was under duress behind closed doors, but when she went into her bank with her abuser, she appeared happy, so bank employees thought she was able to make her own financial decisions, and they couldn’t testify otherwise. In addition, “We have to make sure a victim can testify,” she says, explaining that cases can take a long time to investigate, and she’s had several victims pass away before their court dates. Therefore, when a case is filed, the prosecutor is allowed to do a conditional exam and videotape it to preserve testimony for future use. Her office also needs to be able to corroborate the victim’s version of events, perhaps with cell phone records and independent witnesses and have all the documentary evidence they need. In addition, they must make sure bank records still exist, especially in cases that take a long time to investigate. “We cannot file a case unless we can prove it without reasonable doubt so that 12 jurors could convict that person,” she says. “It’s really just working with an elder victim, being respectful of their status and making sure we don’t make it unduly stressful for that person.” Getting restitution is difficult, because many people who embezzle money have spent it. “We always get an order,” says Rodriguez, and she explains that it’s easier in cases involving larger amounts, because her office can get injunctions and put liens on property. She worked on elder fraud cases for several years before becoming district attorney and says, “When I did elder abuse, I felt
like I was being a bill collector.” Not every case is a felony or even a crime, but remedies other than filing charges can help protect elders. Among them are restraining orders, powers of attorney and estate planning to safeguard a person’s money. Small claims actions are an option, and conservatorships are useful when someone has dementia and shouldn’t be making financial decisions. “We can’t give legal advice to victims. We only prosecute crimes,” Rodriguez says, but she will field calls from people who want to know what to do. She spoke to one woman who discovered that her husband had been signing over checks to a scammer for several months and given up $100,000. Rodriguez advised her to file a police report and told her, “It happens. Don’t be angry.” An ounce of prevention Learning about scams and ways to recognize them is one of the most effective ways for elders to prevent fraud. When Evan Lichtblau, 17, a senior at Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley, saw his grandfather entering information into his phone, something seemed amiss. Lichtblau intervened and discovered that his “abuelo” was the target of a scam. The older man had lost money to fraud previously, and “knowing that he had fallen for this scam was frustrating,” Lichtblau recalls. He thought if he could explain to his grandfather how online scams work, he might be able to help others too. He started by serving an internship at the Marin County District Attorney’s Office and focused on finding ways to prevent online scams involving elders. Believing that talking to people directly is better than showing them
32 NorthBaybiz
February 2025
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