My mom is elderly and she was working with people that turned to be very crooked and took her money and forced her to sell her property to get her money.
Do you know these people? What do you mean by your mom was "working" with these people? When you say property do you mean land or a house? Where is your mother living now?
Sad to say it but prosecuting these scammers will not likely get your mom's money/property back. You need to take steps to ensure that you are in control of whatever remains of her assets and proceed to make plans for her future that do not include the money she no longer has. I'm not sure how medicare (medicaid?) will view this if she needs help, better to discuss this with your lawyer.
I would report it, because there is some chance that they could recover a portion of her money. In some cases, the state's Attorney General will accept complaints and they will prosecute. You might also seek relief on her behalf to any Victim Compensation fund. Some counties and states have these.
to the ones who commented on this,my mom was working at this hair salon and some woman in that shop got my mom's trust and supposedly extorted my mom of her money.There's no proof of this as of yet...I just need to know what else to do...the district attorney says it needs proof....
and my mom doesn't want to tell me who it is....she's scared......not to even tell her only blood family this......please....can anyone sitter me in the right direction???
Do you live near mom? Is she competent? Have you tried calling Adult Protective Services? If not, do. Tell them your mom is not getting cooperation from the police or the district attorney and that she is afraid. Then when APS comes to talk with your mom make yourself available to support her.
Is your mother being threatened with bodily harm if she 'snitches'? Are these folks threatening to harm her family members? Does mom have someone she trusts, a pastor or minister? Will mom talk to the police or DA herself?
How were the monies transferred? If there is any chance that mom will require Medicaid in the future, it is important that you get this loss of funds on record as a crime, otherwise it will be counted as a "gift".
Just how elderly is your mom... if she was working she can't be too impaired either mentally or physically, but of course even the young and able bodied can be swindled. Sometimes people feel shame or embarrassment that they have allowed themselves to be taken in and would rather just accept the loss, but if no one challenges these scammers they are free to move on to their next victims. It sounds as though you are operating on info told to you by mom that someone "got my mom's trust and supposedly extorted my mom of her money.There's no proof of this as of yet...". I'm not surprised that the authorities aren't taking this seriously if all you are offering is second hand hearsay. You need to through your mom's bank statements etc and go to them with concrete evidence of the crime.
"some woman in that shop got my mom's trust and supposedly extorted my mom of her money.There's no proof of this as of yet..."
1. Who specifically is the "some woman"? Is she an employee, customer, supplier? Is she someone with whom your mother is in contact on a regular basis? You don't have to ask for names; just try to calmly discuss the issue to get more facts.
2. How did this woman "get" the Trust? If she obtained a copy of it, she would have access to information, but typically a trust doesn't itemize specific financial assets (or e.g., account numbers) unless allocations are delineated for specific heirs. So there would have to be a level of contact, documentation, etc., for someone to know what assets your mother has.
3. Does your mother actually has those kind of assets that could be manipulated by thieves? I'm not asking for details; I'm just wondering if someone working at a beauty salon has the level of assets that would attract a swindler.
4. The alleged thief/thieves would need more detail on what financial assets existed in order to swindle your mother, because if there were no assets available, there's nothing to steal. How did THIS happen? Were there any visitors to your mother's home who might have been suspicious?
5. Do you have a DPOA from your mother that would allow you to access her financial records to verify the thefts?
6. No proof - therein lies the problem.
If you have access to your mother's financial records, start there to build a paper trail demonstrating what assets have been swindled.
You'll also need to be more specific about the "organized scammers"... If it was a group, consortium...just a few people ...it's hard if your mother won't reveal details, but if there is an organized group, the state police might also need to be involved, after you get details.
If you discover information that they used your mother's ID to steal, that involves another level of criminal activity beyond the theft - identity fraud. I learned some years ago that some law enforcement agencies either have or participate in identify fraud task forces.
But first, you do need to find out exactly what was stolen, from bank statements, financial transactions, etc. Somehow or another, you'll need to have access to your mother's financial records.
If she sold property, what specific property? Household goods, a car, real estate? You can easily check for sale of real property by calling the register of deeds or treasurer's office of your municipality or county and asking what documents have been recorded in the last few years. Better yet, go there yourself and have someone in the register of deeds office show you how to do a property check.
On related issues....is your mother still working there? Is she being threatened? If so, are they physical or financial threats? Threats can be reported to the police aside from the theft issues.
I hesitate somewhat to raise this issue, but as I was reading that so many issues as well as proof are still nebulous, I couldn't help thinking what I've read repeatedly in other's comments here. If your mother is a little bit confused, or has some element of dementia, this may not have happened at all.
There's also the possibility that, like many other elders, she has been seduced into buying things online, participating in so-called charities, or other swindling methods and is embarrassed to admit this so has, in her own mind, believed these incidents to be theft.
Please don't take this as a challenge or insult; it's just a query whether there's anything else involved besides your mother's statement that she's afraid and was swindled.
You will have to proceed with caution so as not to upset or frighten your mother. In the meantime, if she's afraid, and it relates to that specific place she worked, perhaps you can help her find another shop to work at to alleviate her fear.
First of all ,y mom is over 74,she still works at a shop though she moved away from the shop where supposedly some woman there,I believe it's an employee there(my mom is an independent contractor ),has gained her trust or might of been involved in some other organized scams.No my mom did not tell me at all..at all about this.A very close relative who lives outside the states but feel close to me TOLD ME that my mom had told them all about the woman that was at the former shop had gained her trust and then started to threaten her to take her away if she didn't give them money,and yes,because of this,my mom by force from these people/woman,sold one of her properties and saw the check on her bank statement(my name is on the same account)when it was deposited,re cords of bank statements revealed that from that check of the sale,the amount went from the actual check and in less than a month,it went to nothing!!!
My mom was making weekly withdraws ...in the thousands...Oh My God,hurts me to say this....and she did it many many times until that amount of the check from the sale of her property went to nothing!!!I called a close neighbor and she also revealed to me that"you know that your mom sold a condo"?This startled me and flew there where she is...and she knows now that I know something....but in that letter to my aunt that lives far away,she says she's scared......that "not to tell me anything at all"...now she's broke....all she worked for......the D.A's office says they need proof.Thy came to talk to my mom and she flatly refused.I need help..in resourceful information...please.Currently I'm paying all her rents.but i do plan to change those dees to my name ASSAP...Im now legally her power of attorney.and another thing,there's this woman who wanted to be my mom's p.o.a and that woman helped my mom sell that condo...that woman may be involved in all this.........and the DA needs proof they say....
It must be heartbreaking, but unless you can convince your mom to speak up I think your hands are tied. Even if you can prove where the money went the police can't do anything unless she admits the transfer was the result of extortion. I think your best bet is to find a way to help her feel safe enough to speak up for herself... perhaps a victims advocacy group would have some suggestions?
what kind of victim's advocacy groups are there..the big ones.I'm her only child...and trying to do all that I can...and she has no one to turn to.....I am her poa now though..and will have everything she still has to my name.....to protect that
Sorry, I can't help you with any organizations, many seem to be specific to location. I did find NOVA on-line, the National Organization for Victim Assistance. It sounds as though you have already been in contact with the local DA and police, perhaps they have someone who could steer you in the right direction?
The check as well as the endorsements will reflect the payee. Work with the bank to get copies of the statements to provide to law enforcement. This is a high priority.
Follow my earlier suggestions to find out from the county register of deeds or other agency to whom the deed was made out, to whom it was sent after recordation, and provide copies of that deed to law enforcement.
And I ask, for the second time, whether your mother has any dementia. I'm not prying, but you've asked for help and this is a critical issue that needs to be addressed.
In the meantime, contact the bank and the county offices today and start getting the documentation needed by law enforcement.
to the person who was commenting about the issue of a "trust",I was referring about that woman gaining my mom's trust-rather say-gained her confidence.Saw an attorney today and they recommend me to have conservatorship over my mom....I think that would be a good direction,after i have the deeds of my mom's property changed to my name.
my mom doesn't want me to take her to a doctor and go with her,and she won't give me that names of her doctors either...sounds like something is wrong there....the DA told me to look at her prescription bottles...
I'm the poster who misinterpreted "trust" to refer to the document, rather than a confidence level. Sorry about that.
I'm wondering what the DA said about getting the documentation you need to pursue the fraud/intimidation, etc. case.
You were very fortunate to be able to speak with a DA directly; in my experience, prosecutors usually don't meet with victims until just before the case is ready to go to court - that was my observation from having worked in two county prosecutors' offices.
Remember, you can't change deeds yourself; your mother has to execute them to convey an interest to you. Otherwise, you've flirting with fraud charges.
I've been informed about my mom that the amounts of money she was swindled by this woman at her former place at work and from her stock investment she had with an investor(back in 2008 this investor committed suicide,but where's her money?)was greater than thought,according to her neighbor.Consulted with a lawyer concerning this.She was suggesting to have conservatorship over my mom's interests.Even though this attorney was suggesting as to how that is done in the state that I live in(my mom lives in another state)can anyone elaborate on this,and if this would be a better way of protecting my mom's interests(property etc)? That way,she could keep her homestead tax exemption with having conservatorship over my mom'seniire estate.
As far as direct communication as you state,that's been the objective since day one pertaining to my mom.She flatly tells me that "she doesn't wan to talk about it",she won't say anything.What i do believe though is that this lady who wanted to be my mom's power of attorney so bad(I'm my mom's power of attorney now)wound up abusing my mom's interests,and this lady was the one who recently told my mom's neighbor "how much my mom actually lost"and says she thinks it's some woman at my mom's former workplace.But then she is real smart(used to be a paralegal).And this lady also(a year ago)helped my mom sell a property of hers,and I was never told that this took place!!!and my mom is scared of this lady.How can I handle this since my mom will not tell me who took all this money from her? And is having conservatorship over her affairs the best thing,giving the extenuating circumstances?
If I understand correctly, the woman (woman #1) who would be proxy under your mother's DPOA, replacing you, is the one who told a neighbor (woman #2) about the scam, or did she tell you? And is Woman #1 sharing other personal information of your mother's financial affairs with Woman #2? If so, I'm beginning to wonder if there's more going on with this neighbor than meets the eye.
Also, your mother is scared of #1, as well as the woman with whom she works who was the ALLEGED scam artist?
If you get conservatorship, there's still the issue of who scammed who, how much, etc. So I'm not sure that would really solve the issue of your mother's financial dilemma.
W/o reading all the posts again, what about the relative to whom your mother apparently was confiding? Can she get the "straight story"?
These involved neighbors make me wonder just how much of the stories are true. Do they have reason to be manipulating you, other than that the one wants to get authority under a DPOA?
woman # 1 WAS my mom's poa(but never filed with the state as her poa).But I'm NOW my mom's dpoa. And yes it was woman #1 who told my mom's neighbor-woman #2 about the scam.The DA already has a record that woman #1 is a possible perpetrator .but since woman#1 is real smart and was at once a paralegal,its hard to get any proof that she's the main perpetrator ,and that;s what the DA's office needs from me...proof. And unfortunately,because my mom was scared about all this happening to her,when she wrote that letter to her distant relative-my aunt,she wrote it in code-like words.I have the letter as well as the DA.I just want to know a more aggressive way to resolve this.Not a day goes by that I'm always thinking about this having happened to my mom and not telling me nothing at all....tears me up....
How were the monies transferred? If there is any chance that mom will require Medicaid in the future, it is important that you get this loss of funds on record as a crime, otherwise it will be counted as a "gift".
It sounds as though you are operating on info told to you by mom that someone "got my mom's trust and supposedly extorted my mom of her money.There's no proof of this as of yet...". I'm not surprised that the authorities aren't taking this seriously if all you are offering is second hand hearsay. You need to through your mom's bank statements etc and go to them with concrete evidence of the crime.
"some woman in that shop got my mom's trust and supposedly extorted my mom of her money.There's no proof of this as of yet..."
1. Who specifically is the "some woman"? Is she an employee, customer, supplier? Is she someone with whom your mother is in contact on a regular basis? You don't have to ask for names; just try to calmly discuss the issue to get more facts.
2. How did this woman "get" the Trust? If she obtained a copy of it, she would have access to information, but typically a trust doesn't itemize specific financial assets (or e.g., account numbers) unless allocations are delineated for specific heirs. So there would have to be a level of contact, documentation, etc., for someone to know what assets your mother has.
3. Does your mother actually has those kind of assets that could be manipulated by thieves? I'm not asking for details; I'm just wondering if someone working at a beauty salon has the level of assets that would attract a swindler.
4. The alleged thief/thieves would need more detail on what financial assets existed in order to swindle your mother, because if there were no assets available, there's nothing to steal. How did THIS happen? Were there any visitors to your mother's home who might have been suspicious?
5. Do you have a DPOA from your mother that would allow you to access her financial records to verify the thefts?
6. No proof - therein lies the problem.
If you have access to your mother's financial records, start there to build a paper trail demonstrating what assets have been swindled.
You'll also need to be more specific about the "organized scammers"... If it was a group, consortium...just a few people ...it's hard if your mother won't reveal details, but if there is an organized group, the state police might also need to be involved, after you get details.
If you discover information that they used your mother's ID to steal, that involves another level of criminal activity beyond the theft - identity fraud. I learned some years ago that some law enforcement agencies either have or participate in identify fraud task forces.
But first, you do need to find out exactly what was stolen, from bank statements, financial transactions, etc. Somehow or another, you'll need to have access to your mother's financial records.
If she sold property, what specific property? Household goods, a car, real estate? You can easily check for sale of real property by calling the register of deeds or treasurer's office of your municipality or county and asking what documents have been recorded in the last few years. Better yet, go there yourself and have someone in the register of deeds office show you how to do a property check.
On related issues....is your mother still working there? Is she being threatened? If so, are they physical or financial threats? Threats can be reported to the police aside from the theft issues.
I hesitate somewhat to raise this issue, but as I was reading that so many issues as well as proof are still nebulous, I couldn't help thinking what I've read repeatedly in other's comments here. If your mother is a little bit confused, or has some element of dementia, this may not have happened at all.
There's also the possibility that, like many other elders, she has been seduced into buying things online, participating in so-called charities, or other swindling methods and is embarrassed to admit this so has, in her own mind, believed these incidents to be theft.
Please don't take this as a challenge or insult; it's just a query whether there's anything else involved besides your mother's statement that she's afraid and was swindled.
You will have to proceed with caution so as not to upset or frighten your mother. In the meantime, if she's afraid, and it relates to that specific place she worked, perhaps you can help her find another shop to work at to alleviate her fear.
I think your best bet is to find a way to help her feel safe enough to speak up for herself... perhaps a victims advocacy group would have some suggestions?
Follow my earlier suggestions to find out from the county register of deeds or other agency to whom the deed was made out, to whom it was sent after recordation, and provide copies of that deed to law enforcement.
And I ask, for the second time, whether your mother has any dementia. I'm not prying, but you've asked for help and this is a critical issue that needs to be addressed.
In the meantime, contact the bank and the county offices today and start getting the documentation needed by law enforcement.
I'm wondering what the DA said about getting the documentation you need to pursue the fraud/intimidation, etc. case.
You were very fortunate to be able to speak with a DA directly; in my experience, prosecutors usually don't meet with victims until just before the case is ready to go to court - that was my observation from having worked in two county prosecutors' offices.
Remember, you can't change deeds yourself; your mother has to execute them to convey an interest to you. Otherwise, you've flirting with fraud charges.
What's the status on criminal action? That's just as high a priority.
Also, your mother is scared of #1, as well as the woman with whom she works who was the ALLEGED scam artist?
If you get conservatorship, there's still the issue of who scammed who, how much, etc. So I'm not sure that would really solve the issue of your mother's financial dilemma.
W/o reading all the posts again, what about the relative to whom your mother apparently was confiding? Can she get the "straight story"?
These involved neighbors make me wonder just how much of the stories are true. Do they have reason to be manipulating you, other than that the one wants to get authority under a DPOA?