PROVIDENCE - Today, U.S. Attorney Aaron L. Weisman joined Attorney General William P. Barr and the entire Department of Justice in observing the 15th Annual World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. The Department echoes voices around the world condemning elder abuse, neglect and exploitation.
The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for our country and the world, but among those most severely affected by the threat of the novel virus are our senior citizens. During this time when seniors are most vulnerable and isolated from their families and loved ones by social distancing and quarantine restrictions, bad actors have immediately exploited this international tragedy to prey on the elderly through a whole host of scam and fraud schemes. As the world takes this day to remember the elderly during these uncertain times, the Department of Justice remains relentlessly committed, through its department-wide Elder Justice Initiative, to prevent and prosecute fraud on America’s seniors.
The Department will aggressively prosecute fraudsters exploiting the Covid-19 pandemic and targeting seniors offering them fake testing kits and fake help obtaining stimulus and Paycheck Protection Program Funds. On this day dedicated to recognizing our seniors, the Department of Justice sends a strong message that we continue the fight to keep seniors safe a top priority.
“Scammers and fraudsters are guided not by conscience, but by greed alone. They will confuse, lie to, and steal from their victims, particularly seniors, with total disregard for the financial and emotional ruins they leave behind," said United States Attorney Aaron L. Weisman. “The Department of Justice makes it our mission to both prevent and prosecute fraud on our seniors through enforcement and outreach."
Earlier this year Attorney General Barr declared “Prevention and Disruption of Transnational Elder Fraud" to be an Agency Priority Goal, making it one of the Department’s four top priorities. Over the past year, the District of Rhode Island has brought federal charges in several cases alleging that seniors were targeted for fraud. Among the cases:
* A Boston man admitted to participating in a scheme to defraud senior citizens in Rhode Island and across the country by persuading them to send significant cash payments to various addresses in Rhode Island to secure the release of a relative from jail, purportedly arrested after being involved in a motor vehicle accident.
* Two individuals from Houston and three from the Atlanta area were charged in U.S. District Court in Providence, R.I., with allegedly participating in online romance scams that bilked more than two dozen people, most of them elderly, out of more than two million dollars.
Major strides have already been made to that end:
* National Elder Fraud Hotline: 833-FRAUD-11
Earlier this year Attorney General Barr launched a National Elder Fraud Hotline. Staffed by experienced case managers who provide personalized support to callers, the hotline serves to assist elders and caretakers who believe they have been a victim of fraud by reporting and providing appropriate services.
* Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force: Established in June 2019 to combat foreign elder fraud schemes, the Strike Force is composed of the Department’s Consumer Protection Branch and six U.S. Attorneys’ Offices along with FBI special agents, Postal Inspectors, and numerous other law enforcement personnel. Since its inception, prosecutors in Strike Force districts brought cases against more than 140 sweep defendants, including a Pawtucket, RI, man who admitted to participating in an international telemarking scam operating out of Jamaica whose elder victims were contacted by telephone and told they have won cash or prizes in a lottery or sweepstakes. However, they are told their winnings will not be released to them without upfront payment of taxes or fees.
* Annual Elder Justice Sweep: In March of this year, the Attorney General announced the largest coordinated sweep of elder fraud cases in department history. The Department, together with every U.S. Attorney’s office, charged more than 400 defendants, causing over $1 billion in loss through fraud schemes that largely affected seniors.
* Money Mule Initiative: Since October 2018, the Department and its law enforcement partners began a concentrated effort across the country and around the world to disrupt, investigate, and prosecute money mule activity used to facilitate fraud schemes, especially those victimizing senior citizens. In 2019 actions were taken to halt the conduct of more than 600 domestic money mules, exceeding a similar effort against approximately 400 mules in the previous year.
* Holding foreign-based perpetrators and those that flee the United States accountable: Transnational criminal organizations are targeting our elder population in schemes including mass mailing fraud, grandparent scams, romance scams, lottery and sweepstakes scams, IRS and Social Security Administration imposter scams, and technical-support scams.
For more information on enforcement actions, training and resources, research, and victim services, please visit www.justice.gov/elderjustice.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
