Who do I go to when I find out that my elderly Mom was swindled by organized scammers?

It also crossed my mind that VC may be the perpetrator posing as a concerned daughter. Good points, GardenArtist.

Ramiller - a troll is someone who stirs up drama and abuses their online anonymity. Trolls like a big audience, so they frequent discussion forums like these. Trolls thrive in any environment where they are allowed to make public comments.

NY DIL, good insights; I wondered repeatedly about the issue of ALLEGEDLY needing to transfer assets to "protect" them.....but from whom, in reality? The issue of asset confiscation has been in my mind every time I read the latest plea for help.

Yet never did I see real compassion for the alleged mother.

This is not a troll,as someone said.It's just that there is no other relative to be helping my mom whose gotten into this situation.I'm the only one,her only son,and I am trying to do all that you all suggest,some that I've already done and caused my mom to get angry at me,such was freezing her account.And I did talk to an elderly attorney and explained to him the situation,and just like the DA told me,it is her that would have to come forward and request the help,not myself.And just because I haven't followed all of your suggestions,doesn't mean Im ignoring them.I appreciate all this.But Im the only family member who is doing all this for my mom...no one else.Some suggestions take time...time that Im trying to allocate...like moving my mom from that state.I do want to do that,and she declines....want to take her to a doctor...she declines.I've recently recorded almost all of the little property she has left changed to my name so that the perpetrator won't force her to sell a property and get all that in cash,like she did last year. That suggestion of having guardianship over my mom's entire inerersts is what I'de like to do and it takes time and i believe a court order.Sorry that you feel that there are inconsistencies.I'm dealing with a lot here,and with limited resources.and all because my mom will not say who is scamming her.I pray to God Almighty that there be a definite solution to all this.Thanks for your suggestions.

Veryconcerned what scam did she fall for?

Why the heck did VC not also look into who the buyers of the properties are? If it was a legit sale, they may have noticed if anyone accompianed Mom to the settlement? Also odd that Mom wants help, but wont tell ANYONE anything.. Maybe she is stashing the cash.. or gambleing? And she has no dememtia ( or very little?) If this is legit.. she is way over the dementia line!

pamzimmrrt has a strong point, so now there's another avenue I don't think anyone else may have thought of before.

Are you sure she's not stashing the cash or gambling? Have you checked her house for clues? This is something even I never thought of because I don't stash cash or gamble. I guess if you just don't do or deal with these things in any way, then you tend to not even think of them if they're not part of your life.

First, you may want to check your mom's house as well as all of her other records. Another thing you can do is check with the local casinos to see if she ever visits them.

Take a picture of your mom so that workers can see who you're talking about because they'll recognize her if she ever comes into their establishment.

Another thing to consider is that if you can check your mom's medical records and speak to her doctors, check to see if she's ever been diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer's. If she has, there's a chance she may not even be competent depending on how long ago she was diagnosed. The longer you have dementia or Alzheimer's, the less competent you become because it takes over everything, especially if you've had it for a number of years. This is definitely where I would check now

And I have read all your comments,and unfortunately all off you are mistaken.It's probably because you all have seen people post things here that seemed suspicious,and i do understand that it can be taken that way.I came to this place to see if I could get suggestions,and not all of them have been acted upon because of limited resources.I am very very new to this people....very new and never thought I would experience such a thing as this.Thank you for reminding me about the person who bought that property I mentioned and maybe they might know who my mom was with.I'm going to see how.And several other suggestions I've taken from you and acted upon.I apologize that you people see me that way,really am.I'm a baby at this kind of handling...serious and dangerous situation my elderly mom has gotten into ..and trying the best I can to act on your suggestions.And really thank you for all of your suggestions. I hope that with what you all have given me,something will become apparent and when it becomes proof,I'll make sure that justice is done to the fullest extent of the law.Thank you again.I will not post anymore because of what you think of me.

Speaking on behalf of us all, we are all doing our very best to throw out suggestions so that you can hopefully find any clues possible, because no stone should be left unturned. None of us are there to see your situation, and all we can do is turn every stone possible. Hopefully you will find the answers that you're looking for and hopefully you'll also be able to bring this very sad situation to a happy ending since none of us really knows what's going on behind the scenes

1rare... my parents both stashed cash,, and gambled. They just didn;t hide it!! Cash all over.. lots of older folks do this.. maybe left over from the depression or a general mistrust of banks? And lots of seniors go to the casino.. it becomes a social thing, perhaps as thier abilty to do other types of travel becomes smaller. If Mom is embarassed,, she may be hiding it because she is losing..

I know I havent posted anything under this issue in a while...particularly because you guys thought I was being a troll or something like that...that i wanted to create drama.But i think after that you guys were finally able to understand me a little bit..Ii ve emailed the dept of justice In DC on this issue....just a few days ago iI visitedmy mom and she finally leaked out as to whom has scammed and robbed her...some woman she met at her former job,took advantage of my mom's good character and ultametly turned to be part of a ring of scammers...but she didnt say all this to me.I figured it out when she mentioned that she "doesnt want me to deal with any of her business(Im her only son)!!...but she leaked out something very important.....she told me not to get her in trouble with the m___.....so......its organized crime scammer group....I know this can be and be very dangerous to handle...my mom has nothing ot her name..Im her dpoa at least....elder attorneys dont deal with this....i just need some guiidance...........wow........

Very concerned... I would also entertain the possibility that Mom is confused or even delusional about the Mafia thing. She may be giving money away to someone she likes and not wanting to stop. You may not be to the bottom of it yet. Hope you can make sense out of the whole story at some point.

You mentioned having limited resources and you can't act on many of the suggestions. My resources were also limited when something needed done about my foster dad. What finally ended up happening is I found out about the APS and at some point they eventually stepped in and intervened. They ended up moving him to a safe location and he eventually ended up with a court appointed guardian around the same time he was to be put into a nursing home. I recently saw him in passing because the guardian cut off my visits right after I reported witnessing abuse in the nursing home. I don't know what the nursing home said to the guardian, but the nursing home was behind cutting off my visits through the guardian after I reported witnessing abuse and now all I can do is see dad in passing. Sometimes having a court appointed guardian outside the family may not be in your favor but very necessary when no one else has the resources to properly care for someone who needs help.

Although its been very difficult to know who my mom's perpetrators are,there is some information concerning this organized group,when she wrote a letter to my aunt and uncle telling them about these people and that they not tell any one else.What I've done is, what she has left that is of any value like her remaining property,the titles were changed to my name.She already lost one property by someone forcing her to sell it then deposit the amount of the sale to her checking account then wrote several checks against the sale amount running her account to zero!......I could not believe it but it did happen.But an elderly attorney doesnt want to handle this.I need guidance...but from whom??...since the a.p.s. wont help because she will not say who were these people are who took all her life savings..and still are threatening her....

She won't say who the people are?

A check is a receipt. The bank will have access to the checks once they are presented. To whom were the checks made out?

This post is fom a year ago. Is this still unresolved? Did you contact the Attorney General in your state? Nothing happened to solve it? What did you try to do?

I know this post is a year old guys....it hasnt been easy...with my also tending to my own problems and responsibilities in life.Like i said,through this period that passed,I was able to secure my mom's lasting little property she still has and had the titles placed in my name,to protect her from anyone out there wanting to again prey on the elderly like my mom.Tried and tried to speak with aps several times..and they keep saying the same thing...."she doesnt want to say who did this ti her,theres nothing we can do".And unfortunately,those checks she wrtote in multi thousands....each time,she wrote to cash.After my arguing with that bank to see if indeed it was my mom cashing those cheks at the bank,they said that it was her but they will not release the videos when my mom would go outside after making the transactions-to see who she was with.And will you beleive that the bank didnt want anymore complaining that my elderly mom was being scammed by some syndicated group and wound up cancelling my mom's checking account because of this?? That's why I need some guidance in thiis people........you all have heard it all...please....who else can i get help???

I think we've given you all the advice we have to give.

So, just to re-cap, police, DA, APS the attorney general in the state where mom lives, consumer fraud protection agency, state banking commision. Tapes from lobby can be suppuoenaed by the DA or AG. You need to put your requests in writing and present then in a business-like fashion.

Are you in Texas? Have you WRITTEN to the Texas Attorney General? Have you made all the requests to APS, DA, BANK, etc, in WRITING?

Bank likely closed her account to PROTECT her from these folks who have her checking account number.

no nothing in writting but I will definetly do that.There is a doctor(che's retired now)who is still a client of my mom,told her everything that happened to my mom and told me that next time she sees my mom she would give her some trick questions to see if she has dementia or something similar.That doctor said that she seemed fine,but recommended a doctor foe she to see to completly check her out.i was in Texas with my mom last week but to no avail,she doesnt want to go to a doctor or tell me anything about these scammers.I know the road to this is long,but i will endure.I'ts my mom.

I see.

Also, just to go back a bit, the bank won't release its security footage to you, but they must to the police if the police demand it. And if you have reasonable grounds to suppose that your mother met with fraudsters or extortioners outside the bank, and was coerced into handing over large bundles of cash, then the police have cause to investigate what took place and see if they can discover whom she was meeting with. I wouldn't let that line of enquiry go, either.

Whoever told you the cops "can't do anything", it's BS! Sometimes I've noticed even the cops will slip up and refuse to do anything because they just don't want to get involved when really they can take a report. Definitely make some noise on this one, and don't back down until you see positive results. Definitely don't take no for an answer and keep making noise until something happens, the squeaky wheel gets the grease, and the louder it squeaks, the more grease it gets! The police are actually supposed to do their jobs on this one and they're supposed to guide you in the right directions such as the resources they rightfully have. They specialize in crime or they wouldn't be there. If you tried calling, perhaps you may try this time showing up on their doorstep and not backing down until they do something to help you, but definitely don't give up, they handle crime every day and they work for us, not the other way around. I've seen some very wonderful stories on social media where the cops have even gone above and beyond their jobs to help other people in need, some of them were elderly. One particular story was when they came in and cooked a meal for a needy elderly couple, and this is just one among many other things public servants have done for needy people. When someone who is supposed to be a public servant says they can't do something in light of all of the other good stories out there, I proudly admit that the ones who did get involved put the others to shame when they say they "can't help", because the ones who claim they "can't help" are the very ones who don't care enough to get involved in the first place, and those who claim they "can't help" are the very ones who don't deserve those jobs when there are far more deserving people more than willing to go above and beyond the call of duty.

Now, as for your mom being scared, you need to start by taking her somewhere safe, and you need to tell the proper authorities who these scammers are! I understand your mom is scared but if you and the rest of the family protect her, and take her where these people can't find her there's nothing to worry about as long is she's in temporary protective custody. What I would do is gain access to her bank account and put a fraud alert out through the bank, and put a stop on her account if these scammers are taking money from her account. I would also speak to an elder care lawyer and see what you can do to secure the property. As long as you remove her from where these people can get a hold of her, there's not much they can do with the right steps are taken to protect her first and foremost. If it turns out the lawyer suggests permanent guardianship, then you'll definitely want to take that step. As someone else mentioned here, my question is

what is she doing to "work with" these people?

What kind of agreement did they trick her into that she was forced to work with them?

Is she even competent?

It sounds like she's at a stage in her life where she definitely needs some kind of protection and I'll explain why:

Predators prey on the ones who are alone who they think have no social network. These are actually easy to get to, which is why predators choose lonely vulnerable people they think they can take advantage of. When they're done and they get what they want, they move onto the next victim when the previous one has no more to give and they're out of money and assets. It sounds like your elder has something these people want and you really need to gain some kind of protective hold over her and her assets. It might have greatly helped to have someone living with her because there would've at least been a witness.

Is there any paper trail of what's going on? You really need to look around and find the paper trail and any other correspondence she may have. I would start by first removing her from the house and taking her somewhere for a day or two and keep her busy enough to be distracted and having a good time. During that time she's being distracted, someone needs to go in and look around her house for any clues that she's being scammed. Collect anything you can find and make copies for starters. Next, take copies to the APS as well as the police department and an eldercare lawyer. When you speak with that lawyer, report what you told us about the police refusing to do anything and your encounter with the APS. You want to do everything in the same day, but start by showing up on the doorstep of the police department, DA, APS, and elder care attorney. Leave no stone unturned and follow every possible lead you're given, even if it means coming back to some of the same people because eventually you're going to get what you came for. Don't give up, shut up, or back down! If someone tries to shut you up, scream louder until someone listens!

thanks and will look on forward......last time i was with my mom I again noticed that her frig was empty...signs like she doesnt have money to buy the necessities..or she doesnt want to cherge all her food to my credit card Ive given her.I'm also working with a friend there in texas who knows a private detective and he can gice me some suggestions...as to istalling or have a wireless monitoring system in her house so i can check up on .I am contacting the bank who canceleld her checking acount...and inquire to them about the video footage they have after my mom would make these huge cash withdrawls at the bank but didnt know who she was with or if the perpetrators were waiting for her outside.I wil get with law enforcement to look into this.And Ive also emailed the dept of justice in DC concerning all that has happened to my mom,beginning with the letetr she wrote to my aunt and uncle a year ago concerning these syndicated scammers.

I know this is an old post,but thanks staceyb for giving me suggestions,as Im arranging as to how I can monitor my mom from these scammers. Even though through all this time of my mom not telling me who swindled her of all the savings she had for her old age(she has nothing now),I was there in september in Texas,and ,although I remember her telling me long ago about this woman she used to work with at a shop- who turned scammer on her, she became aware that i was now investigating about her surroundings with other people...that.....and I wasnt surprised to hear her tell me "what you need to do is shut your d*mn mouth ..."keep your mouth shut about anything'......and she ended with "keep ypur mouth shut and don't anything about the m____"...she meant mafia....that's what I'm dealing with .....that's who took all that she had and ran my poor elderly mom to be cashless and nothing to her name...I dont know how this happened.....that she couldnt trust her only son...maybe because she thought this organized crime group was going to do something to me.......Ive used available resources immensley...but Im strapped...Im her dpoa...was glad to be able to secure the little she has..in property..immediately to my name.....Im installing equipment within her surroundings...but don't know what to really do.i know this is extremely dangerous....and I hope to God you can give me some recommendations...as to deal with this catastrophy that ...now....finally..my mom leaked out...and these people are still trying to get whatever they can from her....please...I need help.....

I think it would help if you reviewed all the posts in response to your similarly repeated questions, listed the suggestions made, and responded in a post as to specifically what action you've taken.

I remember giving up on your quests sometime ago because I made suggestions but had no sense that you were pursuing what I thought were decent avenues of remediation, not only in response to what I wrote but in response to others' comments as well.

Strongly agreed and well said! Please review all the replies very carefully. Read them very closely, there are very good suggestions on what to do and how to handle this. We're not here to steer you wrong, we're trying to steer you in the right direction to bring the sad situation to a happy ending because elder abuse is very common, this is why scammers prey on the elderly. It's up to you now, if this is not resolved, the only one to blame is yourself if you were in the position to do something and you didn't.

* If this crisis continues, what will become of her? Ask yourself that!

Would you want this happening to you? What if something like this were happening to you? Wouldn't you want someone doing everything possible to stop it? Of course you would!

Did you contact the Texas State Attorney General? That office has a whole office dedicated to this sort of crime.

I had missed this thread up to now but it has raised many questions in my mind.
Why did you just not pack her up and take her back to wherever you came from?
Sell everything in Texas and put the money into new account.
Have any SS direct deposited to the new account
Have all bills sent to your address and pay them directly.
Give her a reasonable amount of money to spend weekly for necessities.
Anything extra she has to ask for the money and if it isn't there that's it.
Is she still able to work and get a license in her new State?
If the remaining property is rented get it sold. Texas is a hot property market right now. maybe she can purchase in the new location.
If she won't talk you can't find out who she "owes" this money to but a private detective can work on this and obtain evidence that can go to the police.
Often money is given to religious charities that are not legit. Has she joined any such organization.
Make sure she is safe and looked after but realize there may actually be nothing more you can actually do if no one will co-operate. This has been going on long enough and you both need to stop the madness any way you can before it destroys you both.
Could it be another family member she has given the money freely to to keep them out of trouble. Maybe something like a huge amount of child support that they would go to prison for and it has to be kept secret. these things do happen.