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.
With all that has happened to my mom and her being swindled multi thousands of dollars for someone she flatly does not want to tell me who it is,the only way I'm dealing with all this is take the position of a detective-like approach.That woman who was my mom's poa seems to know who it is,and even my mom's other neighbor(who does talk to that woman that was my mom's poa,BUT I'M MY MOM'S POA NOW) might also know but does'nt seem to want to say much.The DA says they need proof .I only have documents from her bank where my mom deposited a check(condo sale)and saw it go down to nothing in 2 months.Having conservatorship over her affairs takes too long,so I'm having an attorney change the deeds of those condos she still has-to my name,and my mom has agreed to this....but what else can I do???
So, were the withdrawals cash? I'm assuming that she did not checks or send wire transfers or money orders to this person.
If mom won't talk about it, I don't see that there is anything you can do except chalk it up to experience. Make sure mom has no debit or credit card and no checks. I'd talk to the lawyer about changing all of her accounts, and I believe I'd also, with mom's permission, run a credit check to make sure this person hasn't opened an credit card in her own name.
the checks show her signature on them....yes...withdrawing thousands.....og my God......but she won't tell me to whom was she giving it to.....an attorney is arranging for all of her property that she has left-to be changed to my name.And thanks for the suggestion.I'll have a run done to her credit history.And here's a question.....is the DA's office different that the adult protective services??or is it one entity??
Perhaps I'm missing something but I'm wondering why since you now have authority under a POA that you don't ask the bank to provide you with information to whom the checks were made payable, or who endorsed them.
Even if the checks were made payable to cash, someone would have presented them at his/her bank/credit union either to cash or deposit. If for cash, there would be a signature and usually a driver's license as ID on the back of the check. If deposited, there would be an account number which could provide the identity of the individual who received the money.
This data can help identify the individual to whom your mother was giving money.
Then the police can contact that institution and get information on the individual's account.
Sorry, rereading your responses, I see that you apparently hold a joint account, so you would have access to finding out to whom the funds were paid w/o needing a DPOA.
Am I missing something here? I don't understand why the "follow the money trail" hasn't taken place. If I've missed some explanation in your posts, I apologize.
and I do..I do have access to her bank account.I received copies of the transactions....all were cash..made out to her..and as the banker put it,"she always came in alone"to do this,but what about the cameras outside the bank lobby.....any way i could get the bank to show who she was riding with and is that person visible in the camera recording.And all this brings to a question-I'm my mom's dpoa,but she doesn't want me to take her to the doctor,ands won't tell me as to whom she talks to through her cell phone ,and I have her ss number and was able to get access to he account(cell acc) but anything that requires for them to release the call logs from her cell phone,she would be the only person that could make that request,not me.But,being her dpoa,can I bypass that and have the cell company release the call logs to me???I think that is where the real information is....in her cell phone call logs!!Any one knows how I can obtain that?? I'm so desperately trying avenues..to see who swindled my elderly mom!
ok....after I have my moms existing property she still has.all transferred to my name ,then I'll pursue this .Because this former poa(my mom let her have her home depot card only for purchases for repairs my mom needed,only to find out that she charged over $2,000.00 for things that my mom did not approve but promised to pay back and she never did) is a woman who is very savy with the law(she said she was a paralegal once) and she probably knows who this woman at my mom's former work place who swindled my mom out of cash is...how do I get the DA to investigate her?
If I already spoken with the DA's office concerning the person or persons who has swindled my mom and the DA has already closed the case due to lack of proof,can it be reopened ..since there's some proof ?Seems like this former poa my mom had(she's been known to be abusive with my mom's accounts)this woman is telling neighbors of how much my mom has lost due to the swindling,and she says she knows what woman it was who swindled my mom....and any way i can subpoena this woman so that she'll talk??because my mom is way too scared to tell me anything.
I don't know of any way you personally could subpoena someone. To the best of my knowledge, attorneys can issue subpoenas, as can law enforcement, but I'm not sure how an individual citizen could do so.
Perhaps if you could get the police to visit this woman they might be able to get more information. If she does know who the swindler is and withholds information, she could be considered as engaging in obstruction of justice. That charge might encourage her to be more forthcoming.
Forget it. PLEASE spend your energy and time developing a closer relationship with your mom so this can't happen again. Even if you find this person, odds are the money is long gone and mom will never see it.
the reason I want to know who this woman (where my mom used to work) is,there's a high suspicion that she may still be trying to get all my mom has.I know the money is gone,but it has my mom scared that she won't even tell her son anything-me. Im having the property my mom still has turned into a trust and I will be the trustee...to protect her.Any other suggestions??
Can anyone tell me how to talk to my elderly mom who is in her high 70"s as to "who" swindled her out of her life savings and some property??please.....I need to know how to approach her...Im her son and she has never confided in me about the fact that someone has been (or some woman at her former place of work)either threatening her or demanding the she clean her bank account.It seems that this woman at her former work might be part of an organized group perpetrating on the elderly.How can I get my mom to talk and tell me who did this to her.......she will not tell me anything...and Im paying for everything she falls short of like her rent and expenses.I can't go on and do this .Please i need suggestions as to what to do.I done want to forcer her to tell me.But how???
Has your mom been to the doctor? Have you shared this event with her doctor?
Have you spoken directly to this woman who apparently know what's going on? Is there a local religious leader who could speak to that person? Local politician's offices often have community outreach staff who are interested in these situations.
Have you approached the owner of the establishment where your mom worked to say that you are going to retain a lawyer to see about recouping mom's losses from the owner, since they won't let anyone know who the real perp was?
Have you gone to the press and the local TV station?
VeryConcerned, with some forensic accounting on your part, you should be able to clearly see where the money and or property went...unless she checked out cash and gave it to someone(s). Get copies of her statements and cancelled checks and see where that takes you.
You realize mom may not tell you because she gave it willingly, right? I think you need to be prepared for that.
My mom might of given her hard-earned money willingly...but probably because of intense threat from this woman at her former workplace(it was a salon and everyone there is an independent contractor) and maybe she's part of an organized scam ring.I want to know who these people are because THEY might still be praying on her.But I don't want to approach this woman singly,might be dangerous....any suggestions?...other than the local police???
VC, this has been hanging over you for quite some time. Adult Protective Services and tge District Attorney were suggested. Have you contacted either of those? Have you been able to obtain any bank records, anything?
yes ...my name is on my mom's account...I have receipts of when my mom began to withdraw huge amounts of cash...all were made to her for cash...and the DA says they need more proof...I was asking the bank if they could provide me,also my mom's poa,videos of when after withdrawing that cash, she went outside,who was she with........maybe a license plate of whom ever gave her a ride to the bank,maybe that could give me a clue.The bank declined.Can I make the bank give me that information??
If you haven't already done so, you may want to turn to the APS. Another smart move is to check any records of transactions that your mom may have made. Just the fact that it's mentioned how scared she has to tell anyone sounds like maybe she would be in danger if she did. It may also sounds like she's being groomed and promised something under whatever conditions she's under. You may also want to get some kind of case worker involved, someone trained to get it out of her on what's going on. That trained person can actually ask leading questions which will lead up to her spilling the beans or letting the cat out of the bag. You may also want to involve a lawyer. If these people can be tracked down, perhaps your mom could be restored everything she lost plus some. You really want the type of lawyer who specializes in common elderly issues, specifically acting against scams on the elderly.
I forgot to add that you may actually end up having to go to court. If this happens, you may ask the judge to subpoena the banks video surveillance for that day. Noncompliance on the bank's part will put them in contempt of court. I'm not sure how far back surveillance video is stored, so please keep this in mind when pursuing the situation.
Another smart move would be to see who bought your mom's property. You can then approach them and see who sold them that property. Get all of the information on the seller as absolutely possible. Then, you want to go to those people and track it all the way back to the source. This may actually require the help of law-enforcement and even a PI, (private investigator).
From what my mom's neighbor said and its on record,the property was sold to a renter of that unit,but it's that frivolous woman who called herself as my mom's poa at the time who helped close the deal.And when i found out that my mom had sold that property and asked her as to why she didn't tell me of this,she firmly said "I don't have to tell you a thing".This woman does know something!!She used to be a paralegal so she knows how to maneuver around the law to her advantage.She lives in the same condo community and the neigh ors know that she is a big con artist,but my mom trusted her. How can I get this woman to talk??
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your phones people in the condo knew that whoever was after the property was bad news then they are just as bad and guilty as the con artist just for not saying anything and wanting this lady to stay away from her. If you know something and don't do anything to stop it, you're just as bad as the one doing the bad is what I'm saying. Those people knew and did nothing to protect this poor innocent lady from being scammed by a scam artist. I think what I would do in your situation is to confront those people who knew and ask them why they didn't protect the elder from being scammed. I would definitely want answers in this specific situation.
I agree with Babalou. Somebody's missing the point that her mother doesn't want her involved in her affairs, whether or not she was scammed.
And frankly, as a former paralegal I resent the multiple allegations toward paralegals, You specifically stated that as a paralegal the alleged scammer knows now to maneuver her way around the law. This is a blanket allegation which insults anyone who's been a paralegal.
Many paralegals don't even work in areas that deal with "maneuvering" around the law. They can work in corporate finance, real estate transactions, health care law and any variety of practice areas.
If the alleged scammer was in fact a paralegal (and you seem to know something about her), that's not necessarily any indication that her background is an asset to assist her in illegal activity.
I'm not degrading the paralegal community.....and if this gave some kind of indication,that wasn't the intention at all.The reasons I said that this person was smart to maneuver around the law was because, whatever this woman who called herself as my mom's poa at that time , did for my mom-to help sell the condo,and with her telling me when i asked her "why didn't you tell me of this sale ?"(because my elderly mom knows very little about legal affairs;she was only dependent on this woman) and telling me that "I don't have to tell you anything",is what made me think that she took advantage of my mom's inability to understand what she(my mom) was really doing, because this woman knew about the laws.Not to demeanor in any way about what you said.I'm just trying to pick up the pieces and it tears me up...that my mom has lost a lot ......
I will again look to the APS ...to see what can be done.I'm helping protect what she still has which is almost nothing-towards her retirement.I've involved attorneys on the property end and as to how that will be handled...to protect her from any perpetrators that are still out there.The landline phone she has at her place is under my name.I don't know if the perpetrators called her at that number,but since I am my mom's poa now I'll call the phone co. to see if I can get phone numbers. What worries me is that my mom orders me not to cancel that number-ever...I don't know what this means.Any further suggestions will greatly be appreciated.AND it's not that my mom doesn't want me to handle her affairs;It's just that she has very little education concerning laws and she might think that I can't help her.I'de appreciate your suggestions.Thank you.
If mom won't talk about it, I don't see that there is anything you can do except chalk it up to experience. Make sure mom has no debit or credit card and no checks. I'd talk to the lawyer about changing all of her accounts, and I believe I'd also, with mom's permission, run a credit check to make sure this person hasn't opened an credit card in her own name.
The District Attorney and Adult Protective Services in my jurisdiction are two different entities.
Even if the checks were made payable to cash, someone would have presented them at his/her bank/credit union either to cash or deposit. If for cash, there would be a signature and usually a driver's license as ID on the back of the check. If deposited, there would be an account number which could provide the identity of the individual who received the money.
This data can help identify the individual to whom your mother was giving money.
Then the police can contact that institution and get information on the individual's account.
There ARE ways to trace the theft.
Am I missing something here? I don't understand why the "follow the money trail" hasn't taken place. If I've missed some explanation in your posts, I apologize.
Perhaps if you could get the police to visit this woman they might be able to get more information. If she does know who the swindler is and withholds information, she could be considered as engaging in obstruction of justice. That charge might encourage her to be more forthcoming.
Have you spoken directly to this woman who apparently know what's going on? Is there a local religious leader who could speak to that person? Local politician's offices often have community outreach staff who are interested in these situations.
Have you approached the owner of the establishment where your mom worked to say that you are going to retain a lawyer to see about recouping mom's losses from the owner, since they won't let anyone know who the real perp was?
Have you gone to the press and the local TV station?
You realize mom may not tell you because she gave it willingly, right? I think you need to be prepared for that.
Another smart move would be to see who bought your mom's property. You can then approach them and see who sold them that property. Get all of the information on the seller as absolutely possible. Then, you want to go to those people and track it all the way back to the source. This may actually require the help of law-enforcement and even a PI, (private investigator).
And frankly, as a former paralegal I resent the multiple allegations toward paralegals, You specifically stated that as a paralegal the alleged scammer knows now to maneuver her way around the law. This is a blanket allegation which insults anyone who's been a paralegal.
Many paralegals don't even work in areas that deal with "maneuvering" around the law. They can work in corporate finance, real estate transactions, health care law and any variety of practice areas.
If the alleged scammer was in fact a paralegal (and you seem to know something about her), that's not necessarily any indication that her background is an asset to assist her in illegal activity.