Earlier today, the Department of Justice issued its fifth annual report to Congress about their efforts to combat fraud and elder abuse. The report summarizes the Department's extensive efforts during the reporting period from July 1, 2022 to June 30.
"The Department of Justice is intensifying our efforts to fight the despicable crimes of fraud and elder abuse," said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. "As reflected in this year's report, the Department is aggressively pursuing perpetrators of fraud and elder abuse, supporting victims, and raising public awareness to prevent fraud and elder abuse before they occur." .
โOver the past year, the Department has pursued hundreds of criminal and civil cases to bring to justice perpetrators who prey on older adults,โ said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. โWorking with our law enforcement partners, our agents and prosecutors have employed disruption strategies and obtained restitution and forfeiture orders to deter potential offenders, minimize losses, financially compensate victims, and prevent wrongdoers from benefit from their crimes.โ
โEvery year, millions of older Americans experience some form of abuse. And unfortunately, most cases of elder abuse go unreported,โ said Deputy Attorney General Vanita Gupta. "The Department is taking an active, multifaceted approach to addressing elder abuse, and our efforts reflect the hard work of many, including our prosecutors, crime victim specialists, agents and investigators, program analysts, and subject matter experts. ".
This year's report reflects the four pillars of the Department's elder justice work.
First, holding perpetrators of elder abuse and fraud accountable is the cornerstone of the Department's elder justice work. During the reporting period, the Department initiated nearly 300 criminal and civil actions against more than 650 defendants who together stole more than $1.5 billion from more than 2.4 million victims. Some of these defendants participated in domestic and transnational fraud schemes, including lottery, romance, and tech support scams. The Department also went after nursing home operators who provided extremely poor care to their residents.
Second, the Department supports older Americans who have suffered financial abuse or exploitation in a variety of ways. Over the past year, the Department returned hundreds of millions of dollars to victims of senior fraud schemes, while helping to freeze millions of dollars for other senior victims before their funds were transferred to scammers. The Department also supported more than 5,000 victim assistance organizations that provided services (including individual advocacy, crisis intervention, civil legal assistance, transportation, and emergency shelter) to more than 240,000 victims age 60 and older. The Department continued to support the National Senior Fraud Hotline, which helped tens of thousands of seniors report suspected fraud or connected them to available social services.
Third, because state, local, and tribal elder justice professionals are often on the front lines of responding to elder abuse and fraud cases, the Department worked to support the capacity and ability of state communities, and tribal organizations to identify, address and combat elder abuse in its many forms. For example, the Department provided grants to six enhanced multidisciplinary teams to work with older victims of financial exploitation and abuse. These grantees join 23 local multidisciplinary teams also funded by the Department to better identify and respond to elder abuse cases and more comprehensively serve and support victims of financial exploitation. The Department also funded the first National Elder Justice State and Tribal Coalition Center to support statewide coordination and collaboration among elder justice organizations, and developed and shared new resources, training, and tools for state authorities to and local authorities more effectively identify and investigate older people. abuse and fraud.
Finally, the Department is committed to increasing public awareness of fraud schemes and providing older Americans and their families with the knowledge and information to protect themselves from fraud and elder abuse. For that reason, Department employees conducted or participated in more than 700 elder justice training and outreach events nationwide to raise public awareness about elder fraud and abuse, reaching more than 28 millions of Americans.
To report senior financial fraud, call the National Senior Fraud Hotline, 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). For more information about the Department's elder justice activities, visit www.elderjustice.gov.
