Unique LAPD Unit Battles Financial Crime Against the Elderly : Police: But a drastic increase in such cases has overtaxed the two-detective team. A department report stresses a need for more investigators and support.

Incidents of financial abuse involving older people have skyrocketed in Los Angeles over the last six years, increasing demands on the small police unit that handles such cases, according to a Los Angeles Police Department report.

The report details the work of the Elderly Persons Estate Unit (EPEU), a unique, two-detective team responsible for investigating cases in which the entire estate of an older person or a dependent adult is at risk. The report recommends that the department “take whatever steps necessary to adequately staff and support the EPEU with budgeted positions.”

“These crimes are very devastating to elders,” said Det. Chayo Reyes, who supervises the unit. “You’re talking about people who are losing their homes and life savings.”

*

Reyes declined to comment on how many more detectives his unit needs or how much they would cost until the Los Angeles Police Commission has reviewed the report. The commission is scheduled to discuss the document at its meeting Tuesday.

According to the report, the unit is the only one of its kind in the nation. Since 1987, when it was created, it has recovered or prevented the loss of $31 million dollars worth of property, police said.

Over the past eight years, calls reporting suspected financial abuse have increased from between 5 and 10 a day to a current daily average of about 35, the report states. “Due to the daily demands for service and newly reported incidents, it is becoming more and more difficult for the two EPEU detectives to prepare these complex investigations involving extensive documentation for criminal filing,” the report states.

The nature of the crimes and the diminished physical and mental condition of some of the victims complicate many of the investigations, Reyes said. In many instances, the suspects are relatives or other individuals who have won the confidence of the older person and exploited the victim’s trust to pilfer money and property.

“In some cases, they don’t know they’re a victim,” Reyes said. “In some cases, they know they’re a victim, but they’d rather have that company than no company at all.”

Calls reporting suspected abuse come from concerned individuals, neighbors, relatives, church and synagogue members and even bank officials who notice a change in the activity in an older person’s account.

Reyes and his partner, Dave Harned, have investigated more than 500 cases of financial abuse and have had “a 99% conviction rate on major cases filed with the Los Angeles district attorney’s office,” the report states.

With only two detectives to handle cases, much of their success has depended on the pair’s ability to network with other agencies, Reyes said.

Reyes and Harned are part of the Fiduciary Abuse Specialist Team, established by the Los Angeles County Department of Aging. Through the team, the detectives meet with representatives of the district attorney’s office, Adult Protective Services, bankers, doctors and others who come in contact with older people.

“We work together to get the information to show how the elders lost their property--the paper trail,” Reyes said.

The detectives work closely with Ardith Javan, who heads the district attorney’s elder abuse section.

*

The report cites one case involving an elderly former judge who was the victim of abuse. Another case involved a live-in care-giver who stole $500,000 in cash, jewelry and clothing from an 86-year-old widow.

“Currently, the EPEU detectives carry at least 15 major cases each and there are another 20-plus cases in which EPEU has secured the victim’s estate from further loss but [is] unable to investigate due to the lack of personnel,” the report states.

The increase in reports of financial abuse follows a statewide trend. According to the California Department of Aging, the number of confirmed cases of financial abuse involving older people increased 46% between 1989 and 1993, the last year for which such statistics are available.

California has the most elderly people in the nation--3.1 million. Los Angeles County alone has more than 1 million.

As people continue to live longer, “you have a larger group of potential victims,” Reyes said.