Press Release
U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Montana recognizes World Elder Abuse Awareness Day
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Montana
Information and vigilance remain key elements to preventing elder abuse
BILLINGS — U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich, for the District of Montana, joins national, state, local, and Tribal leaders in recognizing Saturday, June 15, as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD). Since 2006, WEAAD has been commemorated to promote awareness and increase understanding of the many forms of elder abuse as well as the resources available to those at risk.
Highlighting the partnership between law enforcement and the public, U.S. Attorney Laslovich emphasized the importance of awareness and education.
“Our office is committed to preventing abuse and neglect of older adults, and to prosecuting those who try to take advantage of them, whether physically, psychologically, or financially. I urge everyone to help us stop this abuse by checking in on older adults who may have few friends or family members, watching for unusual financial transactions, and reporting abuse or suspected abuse to local adult protective services, long-term care ombudsmen, or law enforcement,” U.S. Attorney Laslovich said.
Elder abuse is an act that knowingly, intentionally or negligently causes or creates a serious risk of harm to an older person by a family member, caregiver or other person in a trust relationship. Such harm may be financial, physical, sexual or psychological. The Justice Department maintains a variety of programs and initiatives to combat elder abuse.
The Transnational Elder Fraud Task Force marshals federal and state agencies working collaboratively to investigate and prosecute foreign-based schemes that target older Americans. In addition to aggressively investigating the individuals, organizations and networks responsible for these crimes, this initiative provides the public with information to guard against both traditional scams, like tech support fraud, as well as trending schemes, such as romance scams.
Using one scam to perpetrate or conceal another, some fraudsters rely on money mules to move the proceeds of their illegal activity. Preying on the good will or financial vulnerability of their targets, scammers recruit people, many times older victims, to participate in schemes to move money in ways that avoid notice. The Money Mule Initiative identifies and addresses money mule activity to disrupt these fraud schemes, and helps people to recognize and avoid participation in perpetuating fraud.
To help older individuals and their families identify and avoid fraudulent activity, the Justice Department provides Senior Scam Alerts with information about tactics used in specific schemes.
To learn more about the department’s elder justice efforts please visit the Elder Justice Initiative page.
The District of Montana continues to work with federal, state, local, and Tribal law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute elder abuse crimes. The U.S. Attorney’s Office recently prosecuted and convicted individuals in two cases involving elderly victims.
In one case, a daughter was sentenced to prison for stealing more than $700,000 from her elderly mother while serving as her caregiver. https://www.justice.gov/usao-mt/pr/daughter-who-stole-more-700000-elderly-mother-lewistown-while-serving-caregiver
In another case, two men were sentenced to prison for their role in an India-based computer hacking scam that targeted elderly victims nationwide and stole $150,000 from a Kalispell woman. https://www.justice.gov/usao-mt/pr/india-based-computer-hacking-scam-targeted-elderly-across-country-and-stole-150000
To report elder fraud, contact the dedicated National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 or 1-833-372-8311 and visit the FBI’s IC3 Elder Fraud Complaint Center at IC3.gov.
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Contact
Clair J. Howard
Public Affairs Officer
406-247-4623
Clair.Howard@usdoj.gov
Updated June 14, 2024
Topic
Elder Justice
Component