By: Dr. Jerry Bergman
Montpelier, Ohio
I have either worked with, or have become aware of, several situations where the elderly have been greatly exploited.
In one case, a retired Chrysler executive I will call Walt, was losing his eyesight and in the early stages of dementia.
Walt’s son, Matt, who lived only an hour’s drive away (his brother John lived four states away) began taking care of his father’s bills.
When Matt was paying his father’s bills, his monthly retirement payments were close to $2,000 and his net worth was over $800,000.
When Matt was out of the country on business, he retained an attorney to handle Walt’s finances. The attorney had power of attorney and Walt’s pension check was sent to him to pay all of Walt’s bills. The family assumed for the next three years that the attorney was doing a good job.
The family also worked with Walt to write his will. Walt’s two sons (Matt and John) were financially comfortable, but John’s daughter was divorced and her ex-husband, who was sentenced to life imprisonment, was unable to support their three boys. Thus, they decided that 80 percent of Walt’s estate would go to her.
When Walt died of a stroke, the family discovered that the attorney had not paid any of Walt’s bills for the last six months. The reason they were told, was Walt ran out of money.
Furthermore, the attorney claimed Walt did not have a will. The family then hired their own attorney because they were convinced that Walt’s attorney had stolen Walt’s entire estate, which they estimated was over $1,000,000, including an antique car (1955 Chrysler C-300) given to him when he retired.
They learned that the car was sold at an auction for $90,000. The attorney they hired, though, concluded there was not much he could do.
The family had no written records, no court-filed will, and the title of his car was signed over to the attorney, a gift he claimed.
In court, it would be the word of Walt’s son against a very respected attorney. Furthermore, attorneys are reluctant to go to court against one of their own. The family filed a criminal complaint.
When the detective attempted to question the attorney, he brought his own attorney who told Matt’s attorney, “My attorney advised me not to answer any questions.” He said nothing beyond this.
The family’s attorney concluded that without evidence, aside from unsubstantiated claims by the aggrieved family, nothing could be done.
The family learned the hard way. Only about 1 percent of all lawyers in the U.S. are disbarred each year for financial misconduct. Written evidence is critical.
Case 2
A local home for the homeless contacted a retired doctor to ask if he would take in a homeless high school student whose father was in prison on drug charges and whose mother had abandoned the family several years ago.
The boy, Jason, could work for him to earn his keep. The doctor was unable to drive and was losing his eyesight, so he needed help.
Jason was taking business courses and could finish high school while taking care of the doctor’s bills, doing his shopping, taking care of his lawn, and shoveling the snow.
Furthermore, the doctor would pay Jason, who was then 20, a nominal salary. To pay the bills, Jason had access to the doctor’s banking and checking accounts. He also used the doctor’s VISA card to do shopping for him.
The arrangement worked fine for over a year until the doctor’s daughter noticed major irregularities in her father’s bank account. This included large checks written to people that were unknown to the doctor which they later found out were drug payments.
The family then fired Jason who moved in with his girlfriend, both of whom were evidently using illegal drugs. By this time, the doctor’s life savings were gone.
Jason still had the keys to the doctor’s house and illegally entered it, stealing the doctor’s cell phone, computer, and a considerable amount of cash, as well as other valuables, including his large valuable stamp and coin collections and his deceased spouse’s jewelry.
A few days later, Jason’s girlfriend entered the home with the intent to steal other items. The doctor saw her, and realizing the full extent of what Jason and his girlfriend already did, attempted to evict her from his home. She was a strong, young woman tussling with a 140-pound physician in his 80s.
The police were called, came to the scene, and arrested the doctor! The doctor appeared in court, was fined, put on probation, and was required to attend classes for offenders. The doctor then realized that anyone could steal his property, and he could not stop them.
Jason and his girlfriend then cleaned his house out, even stealing his antique furniture. Jason was also able to get a quick claim deed and, as the doctor’s house was now in the girlfriend’s name, she had the doctor evicted from her newly acquired home.
The doctor’s daughter, however, attempted to recover her father’s property, but to no avail. Because Jason had destroyed or forged all of the relevant documents, the bank would not allow the doctor to view the records because all of the accounts were now in Jason’s name.
The court could have obtained these documents but elected not to. Michigan law did nothing to help the doctor.
I am aware of other similar cases, but these two, while atypical, are not unusual. The moral of the story is, older people are commonly exploited, and often there is little that can be done to deal with the crime.
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Dr. Jerry Bergman has taught biology, genetics, chemistry, biochemistry, anthropology, geology, and microbiology for over 40 years at several colleges and universities including Bowling Green State University, Medical College of Ohio where he was a research associate in experimental pathology, and The University of Toledo. He is a graduate of the Medical College of Ohio, Wayne State University in Detroit, the University of Toledo, and Bowling Green State University. He has over 1,800 publications in 12 languages and 60 books and monographs. His books and textbooks that include chapters that he authored are in over 1,500 college libraries in 27 countries. All 60 of Bergman’s books are on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other bookstores.
