Treasury’s Crime Unit, Consumer Bureau Team Up on Elder Fraud Prevention
June 7 webcast will spotlight the importance of suspicious activity reports
The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, formerly the CFPB, and the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network will conduct a June 7 webcast to urge coordination among financial institutions, law enforcement and adult protective service agencies to protect older adults from elder financial exploitation.
The webcast will discuss issued that were part of a joint memorandum the two groups issued in August, and will spotlight the importance of suspicious activity reports (SARs) and the role that they may play in aiding law enforcement’s investigation of elder financial abuse cases.
Other efforts to prevent senior financial fraud are taking place in tandem with the webcast, specifically passage of the Senior Safe Act as part of the Dodd-Frank Act reform package signed into law by President Donald Trump on May 24.
Speakers on the June 7 webcast include:
- Richard Goldberg, senior counsel for complex litigation, U.S. Department of Justice, Consumer Protection Branch
- Jenefer Duane, senior program analyst, Office of Financial Protection for Older Americans, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection
- Laura Richardson, section chief, Intelligence Division, FinCEN
- Peter Gallagher, deputy attorney general, New Jersey Department of Justice
- Elaine Dodd, executive vice president, Fraud Division, Oklahoma Bankers Association
- Steve Vallejo, senior vice president – corporate security director, corporate security investigations, Bank of the West
The memo states that elder financial exploitation, “the illegal or improper use of an older person’s funds, property or assets,” is the “most common form of elder abuse in the United States.”
Despite its growing prominence, however, only a small fraction of incidents are detected and reported, the memo states.
“Older Americans are attractive targets in part because of their assets and regular sources of income, increasing the need for effective interventions. Older people may also be particularly vulnerable due to factors such as isolation, cognitive decline, physical disability, health problems and bereavement. Thus, their ability to protect themselves from individuals seeking to exploit them may be limited.”
A copy of the webinar announcement is available here.
— Check out How Seniors and Their Adult Children Can Prevent Elder Financial Abuse on ThinkAdvisor.