Additional challenges for prosecuting elder financial abuse are presented by the growing number of interstate and international mass marketing fraud cases. Such cases include “grandparent scams,” foreign lottery scams and internet scams. Coordination among local law enforcement authorities in multiple jurisdictions (domestic and international) is labor-intensive and problematic.
Lines of communication between local agencies and the numerous federal agencies that have authority to investigate and prosecute interstate and international scams is either informal or non-existent. Federal agencies involved in combating interstate and international financial crimes include the following.
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Consumer Protection Financial Bureau.
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Federal Trade Commission.
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Securities and Exchange Commission.
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Postal Inspection Service.
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Federal Bureau of Investigation.
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Department of Justice.
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Department of the Treasury.
Federal elder justice programs are administered and funded through a complex intergovernmental structure. The Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. § 3001 et seq.) established the Administration on Aging (“AoA”) within the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) as the chief federal advocate for older Americans, and assigned responsibility for elder abuse prevention to the AoA. In April 2012, HHS established the Administration for Community Living, which brought together the AoA, the Office of Disability and the Administration on Developmental Disabilities “to better align the federal programs that address the community living service and support needs of both the aging and disability populations.” See GAO, Elder Justice: More Federal Coordination and Public Awareness Needed (GAO-13-498)(Washington, D.C., July 10, 2013), at 4 (available at www.gao.gov/assets/660/655820.pdf).
The Department of Justice supports HHS elder justice programs and activities by pursuing civil and criminal prosecutions of elder abuse and neglect, as well as health care fraud matters. Id. at 7. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (an independent Bureau within the Federal Reserve System) is charged with combating elder financial abuse through its recently established Office of Financial Protection for Older Americans (authorized by 12 U.S.C. § 5493(g)(3)) (“OFPOA”). Id. at 8. The functions of the OFPOA must include activities designed to facilitate the financial literacy of persons age 62 and older to protect them from unfair, deceptive, and abusive practices. See 12 U.S.C. § 5493(g)(1).
Kristen M. Lewis, Esq., Member of the Special Needs Alliance and Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.
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