WASHINGTON - Attorney General Jeff Sessions and law enforcement partners announced today the largest coordinated sweep of elder fraud cases in history. The cases involve more than two hundred and fifty defendants from around the globe who victimized more than a million Americans, most of whom were elderly. The cases include criminal, civil, and forfeiture actions across more than 50 federal districts. Of the defendants, 200 were charged criminally. In each case, offenders engaged in financial schemes that targeted or largely affected seniors. In total, the charged elder fraud schemes caused losses of more than half a billion dollars. The Department coordinated its announcement with the FTC and state Attorneys General, who independently filed numerous cases targeting elder frauds within the sweep period.
“The Justice Department and its partners are taking unprecedented, coordinated action to protect elderly Americans from financial threats, both foreign and domestic," said Attorney General Sessions. “Today’s actions send a clear message: we will hold perpetrators of elder fraud schemes accountable wherever they are. When criminals steal the hard-earned life savings of older Americans, we will respond with all the tools at the Department’s disposal - criminal prosecutions to punish offenders, civil injunctions to shut the schemes down, and asset forfeiture to take back ill-gotten gains. Today is only the beginning. I have directed Department prosecutors to coordinate with both domestic law enforcement partners and foreign counterparts to stop these criminals from exploiting our seniors."
The actions charged a variety of fraud schemes, ranging from mass mailing, telemarketing and investment frauds to individual incidences of identity theft and theft by guardians. A number of cases involved transnational criminal organizations that defrauded hundreds of thousands of elderly victims, while others involved a single relative or fiduciary who took advantage of an individual victim. The schemes charged in these cases caused losses to more than a million victims.
“Winners. That’s what so many of the people who received these solicitations in the mail thought they were. But they’re not. They are victims of scams that Postal Inspectors have seen and investigated for decades. In fact, some of the same operators we encountered 20 years ago are back. But so are we. Yesterday, Postal Inspectors around the country executed search warrants on 14 locations that some of these same operators used to run their scams. We’re letting the American public know - and especially our vulnerable older Americans - that Postal Inspectors are working hard to protect them and ensure their confidence in the U.S. Mail," said Chief Postal Inspector Cottrell.
“Over the last year, the FBI has initiated more than 200 financial crimes cases involving elderly victims who were devastated financially, emotionally, mentally and physically. Picking up the pieces of these fraud schemes can be equally as traumatizing for the caregivers of these elderly victims," said Acting Deputy Director Bowdich. “The FBI reminds seniors and their caregivers to be vigilant. If any person believes they are the victim of, or have knowledge of fraud involving an elderly person, regardless of the loss amount, they should report it to the FBI."
“We target and prosecute those who target the elderly, because the true measure of the strength of our criminal justice system is in how we treat and protect our most vulnerable members of society," said U.S. Attorney Josh J. Minkler. “Schemes to defraud the elderly often dovetail with specialized types of fraud, such as health care and financial fraud, that are also Department priorities. Any time we can root out and stop a complex fraud that also targets the elderly, we are fulfilling one of the Department’s highest purposes with some of the Department’s most effective tools. Recognizing the multi-faceted aspect of these schemes, we have coordinated with multiple law enforcement partners across different specialties to vigorously investigate and charge complex cases targeting vulnerable victims."
In the last year alone, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana charged multiple defendants with creating approximately $10 million in fraud, waste, and abuse within the health care industry. These cases implicated the sick and the elderly.
Other recently prosecuted cases involving elder victims include:
United States v. Michael Sallee: Sallee, 59, of Bloomington, Indiana, acted as a trusted CPA and financial advisor when he stole approximately $1.1 million from an elderly widow, her children, and grandchildren. He used the funds for his own benefit, and was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to mail fraud charges.
United States v. Sherry Gore: Gore, 67, of Morgantown, Indiana, was charged with conspiring to use a false name in connection with a fraud scheme for her role collecting money for a long-running psychic mail fraud scam. According to charges, Gore sent letters to victims of the psychic scheme after the victims’ checks bounced. In many letters, Gore used a false name, claimed to be the “Director/Legal Services-Collections," and threatened that lawyers would pursue legal proceedings against victims.
This case is being prosecuted by the Department’s Consumer Protection Branch, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana.
To ensure that we continue to hold accountable those who take advantage of the elderly, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana met with law enforcement partners at FBI and the U.S Postal Inspection Service this past week, coordinating public outreach relating to elder justice, as well as efforts to critically evaluate and identify schemes that target the elderly.
Actions against other elder fraud schemes
Prosecutors across the country from the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, the Consumer Protection Branch and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices have heeded the call to focus resources on elder fraud cases. Over 50 U.S. Attorney’s Offices and Department Components filed elder fraud cases in the last year. Some examples of the elder financial exploitation prosecuted by the Department include:
* “Lottery phone scams," in which callers convince seniors that a large fee or taxes must be paid before one can receive lottery winnings;
* “Grandparent scams," which convince seniors that their grandchildren have been arrested and need bail money;
* “Romance scams," which lull victims to believe that their online paramour needs funds for a U.S. visit or some other purpose;
* “IRS imposter schemes," which defraud victims by posing as IRS agents and claiming that victims owe back taxes;
* “Guardianship schemes," which siphon seniors’ financial resources into the bank accounts of deceitful relatives or guardians.
Many of these cases illustrate how an elderly American can lose his or her life savings to a duplicitous relative, guardian, or stranger who gains the victim’s trust. The devastating effects these cases have on victims and their families, both financially and psychologically, make prosecuting elder fraud a key Department priority.
Public Education
The Department has partnered with Senior Corps, a national service program administered by the federal agency the Corporation for National and Community Service, to educate seniors and prevent further victimization. The Senior Corps program engages more than 245,000 older adults in intensive service each year, who in turn, serve more than 840,000 additional seniors, including 332,000 veterans.
Using its vast network operating in more than 30,000 locations, Senior Corps volunteers will communicate about elder fraud to potential victims across the country and will use their skills, knowledge and experience to educate their peers and caregivers about the most prolific types of schemes and how to avoid them.
Coordination with state officials
Kansas Attorney General Schmidt highlighted the cases filed by state Attorneys General targeting elder frauds within the sweep period, and he emphasized efforts at the state level to combat elder abuse and protect seniors from fraud and exploitation. He encouraged all of the state Attorneys General to devote enforcement and public education resources to preventing financial exploitation of senior citizens.
Coordination with foreign law enforcement
Exceptional assistance from foreign law enforcement partners amplified the effectiveness of the Department’s initiative. The sweep announced today benefited greatly from the work of the International Mass-Marketing Fraud Working Group (IMMFWG), a network of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Europol, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. The IMMFWG is co-chaired by the U.S. Department of Justice and FTC, and law enforcement in the United Kingdom, and serves as a model for international cooperation against specific threats that endanger the financial well-being of each member country’s residents. Attorney General Sessions expressed gratitude for the outstanding efforts of the working group, including law enforcement action taken as part of the sweep by the Vancouver Police Department in Canada to halt mass mailing schemes that defrauded hundreds of thousands of elderly victims worldwide.
Elder fraud complaints may be filed with the FTC at www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov or at 877-FTC-HELP. The Department of Justice provides a variety of resources relating to elder fraud victimization through its Office of Victims of Crime, which can be reached at www.ovc.gov.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
