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.
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.
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??
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?
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???
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.
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?
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???
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??
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.
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.
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.
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?
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!
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.
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.
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??
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.
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???
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....
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?
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?
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.
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.
You realize mom may not tell you because she gave it willingly, right? I think you need to be prepared for that.
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?
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.
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.
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.
The District Attorney and Adult Protective Services in my jurisdiction are two different entities.
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.
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?
What's the status on criminal action? That's just as high a priority.
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.