America's Invisible Epidemic
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S. HRG. 112–716 AMERICA’S INVISIBLE EPIDEMIC: PREVENTING ELDER FINANCIAL ABUSE HEARING BEFORE THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON AGING UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION WASHINGTON, DC NOVEMBER 15, 2012 Serial No. 112–24 Printed for the use of the Special Committee on Aging ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.fdsys.gov U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 78–020 PDF WASHINGTON : 2013 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON AGING HERB KOHL, Wisconsin, Chairman RON WYDEN, Oregon BOB CORKER, Tennessee BILL NELSON, Florida SUSAN COLLINS, Maine BOB CASEY, Pennsylvania ORRIN HATCH, Utah CLAIRE MCCASKILL, Missouri MARK KIRK III, Illinois SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island DEAN HELLER, Nevada MARK UDALL, Colorado JERRY MORAN, Kansas MICHAEL BENNET, Colorado RONALD H. JOHNSON, Wisconsin KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND, New York RICHARD SHELBY, Alabama JOE MANCHIN III, West Virginia LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut SAXBY CHAMBLISS, Georgia CHAD METZLER, Majority Staff Director MICHAEL BASSETT, Ranking Member Staff Director (II) CONTENTS Page Opening Statement of Senator Herb Kohl ............................................................. 1 Statement of Senator Bob Corker .......................................................................... 2 Statement of Senator Bill Nelson ........................................................................... 2 PANEL OF WITNESSES Frank Abagnale, Author and Consultant, Abagnale & Associates, Washington, DC .......................................................................................................................... 3 Kay Brown, Director, Education, Workforce and Income Security, U.S. Gov- ernment Accountability Office, Washington, DC ............................................... 5 Hubert ‘‘Skip’’ Humphrey III, Assistant Director, Office of Older Americans, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Washington, DC ............................... 7 Paul Smocer, President, Bits, Financial Services Roundtable, Washington, DC .......................................................................................................................... 8 Paul Greenwood, Deputy District Attorney, Head of Elder Abuse Unit, Family Protection Service, San Diego, CA ...................................................................... 10 APPENDIX WITNESS STATEMENTS FOR THE RECORD Frank Abagnale, Author and Consultant, Abagnale & Associates, Washington, DC .......................................................................................................................... 28 Kay Brown, Director, Education, Workforce and Income Security, Government Accountability Office, Washington, DC .............................................................. 34 Hubert ‘‘Skip’’ Humphrey III, Assistant Director, Office of Older Americans, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Washington, DC ............................... 42 Paul Smocer, President, BITS, Financial Services Roundtable, Washington, DC .......................................................................................................................... 46 Paul Greenwood, Deputy District Attorney, Head of Elder Abuse Unit, Family Protection Division, San Diego, CA .................................................................... 57 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION BY WITNESSES SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD Questions submitted by Senator Wyden for Mr. Abagnale .................................. 64 Questions submitted by Senator Wyden for Mr. Humphrey ................................ 65 GAO Report: Elder Justice: National Strategy Needed to Effectively Combat Elder Financial Exploitation ............................................................................... 66 ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) ............................................................................... 146 Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Washington, DC ................................ 148 Elaine Roberts Musser, Attorney at Law, Davis, CA ........................................... 156 U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Washington, DC .................................................. 165 University of Cincinnati, Center for Aging with Dignity, Cincinnati, OH ......... 168 (III) AMERICA’S INVISIBLE EPIDEMIC: PREVENTING ELDER FINANCIAL ABUSE THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2012 U.S. SENATE, SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON AGING, Washington, DC. The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:00 p.m. in Room SD–562, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Herb Kohl, Chair- man of the Committee, presiding. Present: Senators Kohl [presiding], Wyden, Nelson, Casey, Whitehouse, Blumenthal, and Corker. OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR HERB KOHL, CHAIRMAN The CHAIRMAN. Good afternoon. We appreciate very much your presence at this hearing. Today we will be talking about ways to prevent a growing na- tional crisis, elder financial abuse. From the opportunistic thief working as a home care aide, to the shady telemarketer who be- friends a lonely senior on the phone to take advantage of him through a sweepstakes scam, the stories this Committee has heard are alarming. Seniors are being victimized every day, and the problem is get- ting worse. According to the Investor Protection Trust, one out of every five older Americans has already been duped by a financial scam. And while the costs associated with elder financial abuse are estimated to be $2.9 billion every year, financial abuse often does go unrecognized because victims are too afraid or embarrassed to report the crime to authorities. The reality is, many of us may know an older adult who is at risk, or who has been a victim of elder financial abuse. It might be a family member, a neighbor, or a friend. In fact, someday it might indeed be each and every one of us. But there is hope. Today we will highlight new elder financial abuse prevention programs being implemented across the Federal, state, and private sectors. In addition, we will address ways that older Americans can take steps to protect themselves, as well as their assets. We will start today’s hearing with Mr. Frank Abagnale, who earned a Hollywood-worthy reputation for conning unsuspecting victims. He has come here to share tips for preventing identity theft and protecting against financial fraud. We will then review the findings of a Government Accountability Office report which describes what the Federal Government can do to help states combat financial exploitation. (1) 2 We will also hear testimony from the Consumer Financial Protec- tion Bureau, a member of the new Elder Justice Coordinating Council. Finally, our panelists from the Financial Services Roundtable and the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office will share their knowledge of prevention activities taking place in private banking institutions and at the state level. Over the years, I’ve seen our nation take great strides to combat elder financial abuse, from the passage of the Elder Justice Act to the creation of a background check system for nursing home em- ployees. It is time to build on our efforts to remedy this invisible epidemic and break the cycle of stigma attached to this terrible crime. We thank you all for being here, and I’d like to hear now from Senator Corker. STATEMENT OF SENATOR BOB CORKER Senator CORKER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for bringing this hearing today and for all of these witnesses for showing up. I do look forward to your testimony, and I appreciate you highlighting this issue that affects so many people. And I’ve been told not to make any big deal about the fact that this is your last hearing, so I won’t do that, but thank you so much—— [Laughter.] Thank you so much for your tremendous leadership and for being such a pleasure for me and our staff to work with. The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Senator Corker. Senator Nelson. STATEMENT OF SENATOR BILL NELSON Senator NELSON. Mr. Chairman, I will make a big deal. We obviously are going to miss you, and you have brought great distinguished service to the United States Senate. No one ever had to question your integrity or your word, and you have offered that kind of public service not only in leadership roles in the Appropria- tions Committee, but here as well. Even going back to the Good Book in ancient scriptures, it teach- es us that two parts of society that we particularly want to take care of are the young and the old. And so as our government has developed over the years, that’s one of the great responsibilities of our American Government, is to make sure that the young and the old are protected, and what better subject than the subject of this hearing to underscore that. And then, if that were not enough, under the Chairman’s leader- ship, he has already passed the Elder Justice Act, which was put in as a part of the Affordable Care Act, coordinating the efforts of the Federal Government with the states’ senior centers, law en- forcement organizations, community groups and social services to prevent the physical, emotional, and financial abuse of senators— of seniors. I keep replacing ‘‘senator’’ with ‘‘senior’’ so that when I am intro- duced as the senior senator of Florida, they often get it mixed up—— 3 [Laughter.] And they say ‘‘we’re welcoming the senior citizen of Florida.’’ [Laughter.] And the End Abuse in Later Life Act, which enhances direct services for