Conference Aims at Cracking Down on Scams Against Elderly

A man waits outside a bank holding a bag with what looks like gold ingots. He spots an elderly woman and offers to sell her the ingots at cut-rate prices. As she waivers, a stranger happens to walk by and jumps in with some cash, saying the deal is too good to pass up. The elderly woman falls for it and ends up buying several hundred dollars of worthless gold-covered lead.

That was just one of many scams recounted by investigators and prosecutors at a daylong conference on elderly abuse Tuesday at the Ventura Town House.

The focus of the conference, sponsored by the Interagency Elder Abuse Council, was on the fleecing of the elderly by con artists.

Attended by attorneys, law enforcement officers, social workers and activists for the elderly, the conference included presentations by Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury and representatives from the Los Angeles Police Department. An afternoon session with other Ventura County officials focused on scams played out locally.

Because they are sometimes isolated or have health problems that can affect their judgment, the elderly are sometimes easy targets for ruthless grifters, according to investigators and prosecutors.

Bringing such cases to trial can be difficult, said district attorney’s Investigator Dave Saunders.

Because the cases can be drawn out in court, Saunders recommended that investigators record witness statements before trial in case the victim or a key witness dies or becomes physically debilitated before the trial.

“Sometimes the victim is unwilling or unable to take action,” said Saunders, who was told by one victim, “I’m too old and too sick to waste the rest of my life fighting this in court.”

In his keynote speech, Bradbury said another aspect of elderly abuse is that seniors can sometimes fall prey to those they trust the most--their children, grandchildren, lawyers, accountants, doctors and friends.

And elderly abuse is of particular concern to residents of Ventura County, which has become a haven for many seniors. Bradbury outlined his office’s efforts to tackle cases of elderly abuse, including assigning deputy district attorneys and investigators who are specially trained in laws enacted to protect the elderly.

Although the laws against elderly abuse also cover physical abuse, mental abuse, criminal neglect and abandonment, the conference focused mostly on scams that bilk seniors out of their money.

The scheme with the gold ingots has been used several times in Oxnard, said Oxnard Police Det. Robert Cox.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Mark Aveis said local seniors have also fallen prey to telemarketing scams and high-pressured door-to-door salesmen.

Aveis told of bogus sweepstakes scams in which the victims had to pay money to collect their prizes and of victims who said they felt they just could not politely turn an offer down or hang up the phone.

“You might ask yourself how can you stop this?” said Aveis, as he went through a litany of schemes. “If I may quote Nancy Reagan on this one, the answer is, ‘Just say no’ . . . if you feel uncomfortable about something, trust your feelings.”

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Steering Clear of Scams

Here are some tips from the Ventura County district attorney’s office on when to hang up on a phone solicitor.

* Hang up when they keep talking after you say “no.”

* Hang up if they offer to send a courier to take your check.

* Hang up if they want money for a prize they say you’ve won.

* Hang up if they ask for your credit card number or bank account number.

* Hang up if they insist on an immediate decision.

* Hang up if they offer to recover lost money for a fee.

* Hang up if they make you feel uncomfortable.