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OKLAHOMA CAPITOL -- Every year Oklahoma businesses lose hundreds of loyal elderly and disabled customers. They lose these customers not to poor services or high prices, but to a very specific type of competition that is out to corner the market on the assets of elderly and disabled Oklahomans – financial exploitation.
“Perpetrators of financial exploitation don’t care about market segments or demographics,” said Bonnie Clift, Assistant General Counsel, Oklahoma Department of Human Services Legal Division. “We see cases that range from a couple of hundred dollars to more than one million dollars. It doesn’t matter how much money you make or where you live, to them, you’re just another victim.”
Years of prosecuting cases have shown that predators who financially exploit vulnerable adults are as varied as the people they prey on. “It can be anyone from adult children to the lady who does their hair,” said Clift. “But it’s usually someone they rely on for help. Perpetrators gain the trust of their victims and then isolate them from their finances and the people they do business with. It can happen quick and by the time someone figures it out…it may be too late.”
Money is not always the target of perpetrators of financial exploitation. Victims have lost furniture, jewelry, family heirlooms, stock certificates and prescription drugs. The names of vulnerable adults are also often as good as cash. Victims have been coerced into co-signing for home or auto loans or even signing over their own property. Perpetrators have used identity theft to get credit cards, cell phones and even gym memberships.
Regardless of the amount of assets taken, the most important things lost to financial exploitation have no price tag. “It’s embarrassing to find out you’ve been taken,” said Clift “Victims of financial exploitation have probably always handled their own affairs and struggle to be very self-reliant, so there is a real loss of dignity that comes with this crime.”
“Dealing with financial exploitation is one of the most difficult tasks faced by Adult Protective Services field staff,” said Clift. “By the time most of these cases get to us, you have to be an accountant or attorney or financial auditor just to sort it all out. We don’t have a staff of specialists to deal with this, we need the help of the business community to catch these crimes earlier before they turn into a huge tangled financial web and all the victim’s assets have been taken. Your elderly and disabled customers don’t owe you an explanation, but a simple question could tip you off.”
Signs of financial exploitation include: unpaid bills, eviction notices, withdrawals or money transfers that cannot be explained, bank information no longer delivered to the victims home, unusual activity on the victims account, other parties showing excessive interest in the victims assets and how much money is spent, suspicious signatures on checks or financial and legal documents, unusual purchases like sports cars or electronics and care of the victim not being commensurate with the size of their estate.
“The good news is once we’ve stopped the exploitation, we can attempt to get some of the victims assets back,” said Clift. “We also often help them find assets that were hidden from them and they didn’t know they had. But in the end we help restore their safety, security and hopefully their dignity. And that’s just good business.”
To report suspected financial exploitation, contact the Adult Abuse Hotline at 1-800-522-3511, your local OKDHS County office or your local district attorney or law enforcement.
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