Protect your loved ones from financial exploitation

Recent Seattle Times stories on the financial exploitation of vulnerable adults in our communities are chilling reminders of the cruel and clever predators who lurk among us — and the role all of us play in protecting against them.

Sadly, these stories are all too common — even touching my own family when a relative looted his widowed mother's bank account before the rest of the family knew what had happened.

State agencies and law enforcement work together every day to ensure that vulnerable adults in our community are protected and that those who prey on them are brought to justice — but we all must work together if we want to truly be successful.

All too often, signs of financial abuse aren't immediately recognized, but there are ways you can help us protect your loved ones. Keep an eye out for unusual activity in bank accounts, loans against equity in property or life insurance policies, a change of beneficiary status or a lack of understanding about personal financial arrangements. Other red flags include unpaid bills, disconnected utilities or an absence of basic amenities when a person should have adequate funds. Watch out for new "best friends" or providers who try to isolate a vulnerable adult from friends, family and neighbors.

Last year, in response to cases where scammers were gaining access to seniors' financial assets through trust-mill scams, my office requested a new law to ensure that only legal professionals can market living trusts, wills and other estate-distribution documents. This makes it easier to go after bad actors before they run a senior into financial ruin.

This past summer, the Attorney General's Office worked with the Washington Bar Association and Northwest Justice Project to study mortgage issues and fraud. In this time of rising mortgage rates, desperate homeowners are being lured by offers of assistance — only to be cheated out of equity they've built up and tricked into transferring ownership of their home. We have requested legislation this session to reduce foreclosure-rescue schemes by requiring written contracts and ensuring homeowners are not robbed of their equity.

Our office's Consumer Protection and Social and Health Services divisions, along with our Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, provide ongoing efforts to protect seniors and other vulnerable adults from abuse and neglect. We brought together more than 100 experts in June for a summit on the growing problem of vulnerable-adult abuse, neglect and financial exploitation.

Investigators and attorneys in my office sometimes encounter cases of suspected abuse or neglect, which they must refer to local law enforcement. Because these crimes are so difficult to detect and prove, the Medic-aid Fraud Control Unit developed resource manuals based on its experiences to provide additional guidance to police and prosecutors.

With heavy caseloads, all of us in criminal justice need your help protecting vulnerable loved ones, documenting and reporting suspected abuse as well.

Making arrangements for an elderly parent or friend can be challenging when you aren't sure whom you can trust. You can use state agency public records to conduct your own background search before hiring a care provider, financial or estate planner, housekeeper or gardener. Anyone can make a public-records request with the state's Adult Protective Services (APS) to verify whether a person has a substantiated finding of abuse, neglect or exploitation.

Agencies also maintain information on whether disciplinary action has been taken against a licensed provider or long-term care facility. Always ask for and verify a service provider's references and be present during financial-planning meetings.

In the case of Frances Taylor, while many details are not yet public, I can share that APS has issued a finding that Tyrone Dash financially exploited Taylor. This finding will remain on file and subject to public disclosure to allow others to investigate his history and protect their loved ones ["The Fleecing of Frances Taylor" investigative series, The Seattle Times, page one, Dec. 2-3].

Seniors and vulnerable adults deserve our respect as well as our protection. Working together, we can help keep them safe from harm.