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.
I want to thank you for all your suggestions,really do,and doing this for my elderly mom.As some of you know,concerning my posts history on this issue,that I was wondering if the scammer was my moms former pa.Turns you that that's not the case.It was this woman my mom knew at her former workplace who turned out to be in dark organized scam groups.I've done all that I could do....call the DA..but the DA says she won't cooperate,had her property changed to my name so these perpetrators don't force my mom to sell her property and then demand cash money from her(like they already did this past february;she sold one of her condos and when later I looked at her account (my name is on the account also),the money from that condo sale went to zero...she was making cash withdrawals in the thousands .Now these scammers are wanting more money from her(her neighbor told me that my mom needed $1000 t borrow from her to pay a bill,but that was a lie,it;s those scammers demanding money again)and WHAT ELSE CAN I DO..PLEASE.....ANYONE WHO CAN SUGGEST IN WHAT TO DO IN THESE CIRCUMSTANCES......IM HER ONLY SON......ITS JUST ME HANDLING ALL THIS........thank you...
I believe that fraud on this scale is a federal crime. Also, since you are getting no movement from the local DA, it occurs to me that if this is an organized syndicate, the DA and the police might be getting paid off...that's just wild speculation on my part, I know, but I can't imagine that the local DA and police department would be resistant to investigating a crime like this. Did you report this to APS?
US attorney is part of the Department of Justice. Have you written to you local representatives, city council people, selectmen, whatever they are called in your area?
Why are you being so "careful"?
Being aggressive with your mom won't help; don't nag, let it go with her. Just make sure that you have a police report for this crime, because if she needs Medicaid, you'll need proof that the funds were stolen and not simply gifted away.
What kind of community do you live in where stuff like this is allowed to happen to vulnerable adults, if you don't mind my asking? Seems like there would be good people who would speak up in this kind of situation.
veryconcerned, the local District Attorney is a county branch for the state attorney general. The US attorney is federal and would be of assistance only if the scam crossed state lines, as in email or US mail. It sounds like the perpetrator is totally local, so you want the DA.
badalou,so there is a difference between the local DA and the US attorney??this looks like something I would take into account......a woman who desperately wanted to be my mom's poa then,steals from my mom's credit card,then a woman at my mom's former place of work swindles my mom of thousands....and supposedly this former poa of my mom knows who that woman who swindled my mom at her work is......seems like I need federal help.....seriously...
I do....taking all the suggestions in mind.I just don't want to aggressively approach my mom about the scammers other than the way i approached her in the beginning .First I want to secure and protect the little assets she still has,but I do need for someone to talk to her...someone official who knows how to deal with issues like these with the elderly.I don't want to mess things up by being too aggressive with my mom.She won't go to the doctor with me.The only reason I'm not living near her is because my work is here in another state.But thanks for the suggestions.really looking into having all this possible exposed to the new media so they might be able to help me.I also have to be careful.
Perhaps your kom owed money and sold the properties to pay off a legitimate debt. The money is gone. Family should helpbher make a plan to protect what assets she has left.
Im out of this thread can't help more than I have - scamming is illegal immoral and unethical - you have a duty to report it - end of as far as I am concerned.
I don't know what you mean by saying we've made too much of a broad array of things.
It's starting to sound to me as though all you really want is for your mom to tell you this directly. Does she have dementia? Has she been to the doctor recently? How about taking her to her doctor and starting a conversation about this scam with the doctor. " you know doc, I've been hearing a lot about people taking advantage of elders in this area, getting them to sell property and give them money. Have you heard about that? "
YOU could Stat an indirect conversation like that with a third party, with your mom present, and it might jiggle things a bit.
Thanks a lot really appreciate it...but you made too much of a broad array of things.I'm just dealing with the fact that my mom has seriously been scammed,and possible these dark organized scammers might still have my mom under threat to not tell me anything;That's what I need to know whee to go to...as far as these issues relating to serios scams against the elderly .The family is fas away and I'm her only son and I'm trying to do whatever I can to see how I can protect my mom from future organized crime scams.Oh my God,I hope I can help her.She never told me that this happened,and now Im bearing this heavy burden of doing what I can.And thank you for your suggestions...and future suggestions,which i desperately need...
I think I would also talk to the local journalist who covers consumer affairs, both print and TV. Perhaps they've got other stories like this and can help.
There are many different types of fraud and each may be reported differently. First, report the fraud to your local police department. You may also contact your state regulators (for example, consumer protection office) to report fraud. Violations of federal laws should be reported to the federal agency responsible for enforcement. While federal agencies are rarely able to act on behalf of individuals, they use complaints to record patterns of abuse which allow an agency to take action against a company or industry. If you suspect fraud, take these steps:
Contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or use the Online Complaint Assistant to report most types frauds. Report fraud that used the U.S. Mail to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. File complaints about Internet-based frauds to the Internet Crime Complaint Center. Contact the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to report instances of Medicare fraud. Report Medicaid fraud to your state's Medicaid program office. Use the Fraud and Abuse Reporting Directory (PDF, Download Adobe Reader) to find the contact information for your office. File a complaint about e-commerce (business or trade that takes place on the Internet) across international borders to econsumer.gov. Report other fraudulent business practices to the Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration. Report immigration fraud, the illegal use of documents or illegal actions to get around U.S. immigration laws, to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Report suspected census related frauds, where scammers act like they are collecting your personal information for the government, to the Census Bureau. If you are the victim of moving fraud, you have two options. If you are moving within the same state, file a complaint with your state utility commission. If your move is interstate, you can file your complaint with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Report investing frauds to the Securities and Exchange Commission or your state's securities regulator. Contact the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau about credit and loan related frauds. The agency can also help you with frauds related to money transfers, credit reports, and other financial services. File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission for telephone related frauds, such as mysterious charges on your bill (cramming), an illegal switch of your service (slamming), or telemarketing. Visit Stopfraud.gov for information on which agencies you should report banking, credit card, housing, and other financial frauds to. Report Social Security related frauds with the Social Security Administration's Inspector General or using their online fraud reporting form. Report misuse of federal funds to Government Accountability Office through the FraudNet form. Email USA.gov if you have received fake emails or phone calls that were supposedly from USA.gov.
But it's a fact..that the local police only want to see blood to deal with a situation.Ive already dealt with the DA's office on that state but because there's no proof,they closed the case.That'd why I'm going about it in these ways-to protect what my mom still has.These scammers seem to be dark and organized and they know very well how to stay low key.Any suggestions would be appreciated.My mom is an elderly woman that has really worked hard for what she has and now has nothing due to these perpetrators......
If she is under threat or feels under threat of physical violence and from your comments she seems to then contact the police. Their job to defend and protect.
I would also get POA and protect her account by freezing withdrawals so only you can make them on her behalf. Take her check book from her and say you will look after it. Ask the bank NOT to issue a new one.
If not then file for guardianship. Could she come and stop with you while you sort this out? Seems to me like she should not be left to her own devices any more
having guardianship over my mom takes time,and I don't think I have too much time to make sure my mom doesn't get scammed again.Under pressure from probably a scammer,she sold a property without telling me,and when she deposited that check from the sale to her bank account,whithin two months she wrote checks to herself to make withdrawls and went to nothing.....
the attorneys here in this state recommend that I set up a trust for my mom and then she will make me the trustee,that way with her property ,she won't lose her homestead exemption,but what if down the way she is pressured by someone or scammer to "revoke me"as her trustee??This attorney tells me that he will make it so that that doesn't happen or would be difficult to revoke me.But the attorney in the state that my mom lives tells me that it would be better to just have the deeds changed to my name to protect my mom from scammers threatening her to sign over her property,although with doing this she would lose her homestead exemption and I would pay a higher tax.I want to protect what my mom still has,so which would be the better way to protect my mom's interests??Can someone please give me advice?? And as far as the phone that's in my name,I think it's those scammers..maybe organized dark scammers,that might have threatened my mom to never change that landline number;If i disconnect it,they might do something to her...what can I do??This worries me a lot ..
You need to get financial guardianship over your mother. If she agrees then it won't be painful and expensive. If not, you will have to take her to court. Once this is done then you can close all of your mom's accounts and file a guardianship order so noone can buy her property without going through you. I'm dealing with this right now. The scammers told my mom she has an inheritance but the government needs to be paid taxes and fees first. The scammers are still trying to get my mom to send them money, even though they know I have a tight reign on things. See NYS Article 81
Im sorry to say that there has been a misunderstanding here.When i was talking about a sale my mom made of her property ,I found out through a neighbor about it.So I immediately (at that time my mom had a poa who turned out to be a liar but helped her sell that property) called that woman who named herself as my mom's poa at the time and asked her(my mom's poa at the time) as to" why was I not notified of this transaction that took place",and that woman(not my mom) firmly responded to me saying "I don't have to tell you a thing"...so this poa took advantage of my mom's inability to understand the laws! My mom trusted this woman because she was smart and knew the laws,but turned out to be a con artist...so she could get her hands on part of that money from the sale.My question is...this woman being really smart wth the law and with that suaveness deceived my mom..how can I get this woman to talk about what she did for my mom???She probably knows who scammed my mom out of thousands.I have a recorded phone message she left me once,saying that she doesn't know as to who scammed my mom,when she told another neighbor that she does know who it was...how can I get this woman to talk????
I think I might tell Mum that I had to change the phone number because I had taken an abusive phone call and don't ant her disturbed by them. Trouble is while phone calls register outgoing in the UK they don't register incoming. Scammers are clever, they use things like I am a paralegal to give some form of credibility to their actions, which undermines the really good work that 99.9999% of paralegals do. There is of course always on bad apple in the mix. I would involve social services and explain the situation. Get a specialist in elderly care to talk to your Mum - not the least because Medicaid will want to know who the money went to in the event she needs to access it. Remember there is a spend down period which will be looked at and if your Mum can't explain it she could be in for a really rough time.
You have to understand she feels frightened, possibly stupid and certainly won't want you to know that she has been duped, plus, if it is a scammer then she will also have been pushed very hard into the 'I don't have to tell you anything' realm. Try saying I know you don't have to tell me anything and I understand that but I am worried about you Mum, I love you and I have real concerns about this money. You sold your condo but don't have anything to show for it and those sort of gifts(if they were gifts) have to be reported to the IRS so I need to know sweetheart so I can make sure you stay within the law.
Something like that might work - play on the mother son bond
If the phone is in your name you should be able to request records, set the account up online. You would not need need a POA for that. Something is not right here at all.
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.
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 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 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.
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 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).
US attorney is part of the Department of Justice. Have you written to you local representatives, city council people, selectmen, whatever they are called in your area?
Why are you being so "careful"?
Being aggressive with your mom won't help; don't nag, let it go with her. Just make sure that you have a police report for this crime, because if she needs Medicaid, you'll need proof that the funds were stolen and not simply gifted away.
What kind of community do you live in where stuff like this is allowed to happen to vulnerable adults, if you don't mind my asking? Seems like there would be good people who would speak up in this kind of situation.
Not sure why you won't follow advice here.
I don't know what you mean by saying we've made too much of a broad array of things.
It's starting to sound to me as though all you really want is for your mom to tell you this directly. Does she have dementia? Has she been to the doctor recently? How about taking her to her doctor and starting a conversation about this scam with the doctor. " you know doc, I've been hearing a lot about people taking advantage of elders in this area, getting them to sell property and give them money. Have you heard about that? "
YOU could Stat an indirect conversation like that with a third party, with your mom present, and it might jiggle things a bit.
If you think these scammed are part of a syndicate, I would go to the US attorney, not the local DA.
Right heres a list of things you can do:
Report Frauds and Scams
There are many different types of fraud and each may be reported differently. First, report the fraud to your local police department. You may also contact your state regulators (for example, consumer protection office) to report fraud. Violations of federal laws should be reported to the federal agency responsible for enforcement. While federal agencies are rarely able to act on behalf of individuals, they use complaints to record patterns of abuse which allow an agency to take action against a company or industry. If you suspect fraud, take these steps:
Contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or use the Online Complaint Assistant to report most types frauds.
Report fraud that used the U.S. Mail to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
File complaints about Internet-based frauds to the Internet Crime Complaint Center.
Contact the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to report instances of Medicare fraud.
Report Medicaid fraud to your state's Medicaid program office. Use the Fraud and Abuse Reporting Directory (PDF, Download Adobe Reader) to find the contact information for your office.
File a complaint about e-commerce (business or trade that takes place on the Internet) across international borders to econsumer.gov. Report other fraudulent business practices to the Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration.
Report immigration fraud, the illegal use of documents or illegal actions to get around U.S. immigration laws, to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Report suspected census related frauds, where scammers act like they are collecting your personal information for the government, to the Census Bureau.
If you are the victim of moving fraud, you have two options. If you are moving within the same state, file a complaint with your state utility commission. If your move is interstate, you can file your complaint with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
Report investing frauds to the Securities and Exchange Commission or your state's securities regulator.
Contact the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau about credit and loan related frauds. The agency can also help you with frauds related to money transfers, credit reports, and other financial services.
File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission for telephone related frauds, such as mysterious charges on your bill (cramming), an illegal switch of your service (slamming), or telemarketing.
Visit Stopfraud.gov for information on which agencies you should report banking, credit card, housing, and other financial frauds to.
Report Social Security related frauds with the Social Security Administration's Inspector General or using their online fraud reporting form.
Report misuse of federal funds to Government Accountability Office through the FraudNet form.
Email USA.gov if you have received fake emails or phone calls that were supposedly from USA.gov.
I would also get POA and protect her account by freezing withdrawals so only you can make them on her behalf. Take her check book from her and say you will look after it. Ask the bank NOT to issue a new one.
If not then file for guardianship. Could she come and stop with you while you sort this out? Seems to me like she should not be left to her own devices any more
You have to understand she feels frightened, possibly stupid and certainly won't want you to know that she has been duped, plus, if it is a scammer then she will also have been pushed very hard into the 'I don't have to tell you anything' realm. Try saying I know you don't have to tell me anything and I understand that but I am worried about you Mum, I love you and I have real concerns about this money. You sold your condo but don't have anything to show for it and those sort of gifts(if they were gifts) have to be reported to the IRS so I need to know sweetheart so I can make sure you stay within the law.
Something like that might work - play on the mother son bond
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.
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).