Article Highlights:
- From Wall Street investment scams to telemarketing ripoffs, financial swindles have hurt more than 7.3 million older Americans, and the actual number could far exceed that, according to a new study released Tuesday.
- "We now know that a shockingly large number of older Americans are already victims of financial swindles," said Don Blandin, chief executive of the Investor Protection Trust, the Washington-based nonprofit that led the study.
- "And millions more are in danger of being exploited in such a fashion."
From Wall Street investment scams to telemarketing ripoffs, financial swindles have hurt more than 7.3 million older Americans, and the actual number could far exceed that, according to a new study released Tuesday.
Nationwide, one in every five people age 65 or older has been a victim of a money-related crime or other suspect financial practices, the survey found. And nearly 40 percent said they are currently being targeted by people "who are calling me or mailing me, asking for money, pitching lotteries and other schemes," according to the study, sponsored by a group of regulatory, non-profit and health-care groups.
"We now know that a shockingly large number of older Americans are already victims of financial swindles," said Don Blandin, chief executive of the Investor Protection Trust, the Washington-based nonprofit that led the study. "And millions more are in danger of being exploited in such a fashion."
The survey of more than 2,000 people nationwide has serious implications for Florida, which has one of the nation's biggest concentrations of retirees. More than 17 percent -- or 3.22 million -- of Florida's population is age 65 or more, compared with 12.8 percent nationwide, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
More than half of the elder-abuse complaints the state receives involve financial impropriety, according to a spokeswoman for the Florida Office for Financial Regulation. No specific figures were available.
Based on the new study's national figures, nearly 650,000 older Floridians have been victims of financial crime in recent years -- though that number may be considerably higher.
Sandie Jernigan, program manager in Altamonte Springs for the Florida Attorney General's Seniors vs. Crime Program, said her caseload is heavier than ever.
"We get complaints about everything from investment, insurance and annuity schemes to questionable practices by car dealerships and tree-cutting companies," she said. "Many of the older people out there are so trusting, they can get taken advantage of so easily." Financial scams against seniors led Florida to enact the Safeguard Our Seniors Act, signed earlier this month by Gov. Charlie Crist. The law boosts fines against brokers who "churn" investment accounts, caps annuity-surrender charges at 10 percent, and requires restitution for victims in certain cases. "I hope it will do a lot of good. The more things we can put in place to help these seniors, the better," Jernigan said. It's not clear if any of the new law's provisions would have helped Jennette Weaver, an 89-year-old retiree in Orlando. Weaver was caught up in the $300 million Ponzi scheme overseen by former boy-band promoter Lou Pearlman, now serving time in prison for fraud. She and her late husband invested thousands of dollars in Pearlman's "high-yield savings program," which he claimed was insured by the federal government. When the scheme unraveled, Weaver and hundreds of other victims lost their savings. Now she is among a number of investors who are dealing with litigation as a result of the Pearlman bankruptcy case. "I don't expect to ever get anything back from it," she said Tuesday. "I really wish the whole thing was over. I had no idea when we invested in it that things would turn out like this, and I certainly regret the day I ever heard about it." The Investor Protection Trust, lead sponsor of the new study, said it is planning a nationwide effort to help older investors avoid financial ripoffs. The "Elder Investment Fraud and Financial Exploitation" prevention campaign is largely aimed at educating medical doctors about the need to recognize signs of financial abuse in older patients and to refer such patients to community support services. The campaign is based on a successful pilot program in Texas, said Denise Voigt Crawford, that state's top securities regulator and president of the North American Securities Administrators Association, a co-sponsor of Tuesday's study. "Investment fraud too often goes unreported," she said. "But by teaming up with clinicians and Adult Protective Services workers, state securities regulators will have more information to investigate and prosecute those who exploit our nation's seniors." Florida's doctors gave a tentative OK to the idea, though involving medical professionals in a patient's financial life raises complex issues. Doctors must focus "first and foremost" on a patient's health, said Erin VanSickle, a Florida Medical Association spokeswoman. But if there is an "appropriate role for them to play" in helping patients make good financial decisions, "we would welcome the opportunity." // var ranNum = Math.round(Math.random()*1000000); document.write('http://content.yellowbrix.com/images/content/cimage.nsp?ctype=full_story&story_id=146282113&id=thirdage&ip_id=McClatchy-Tribune+Business+News&source_id=The+Orlando+Sentinel&category=Financial+Planning&random=' + (ranNum));// ]]>//
