Elder Fraud Wars - Case Histories from an Enforcement Attorney

By recounting actual court cases, this book examines the multi-billion-dollar elder fraud industry, the special vulnerabilities of those it targets, and the ease and frequency with which it obtains hundreds of thousands of dollars per victim. It also reveals successful strategies for combating that industry and the important contributions to that effort by concerned bankers, doctors, reporters and others in the private sector.
The cases reveal an increasingly sophisticated global industry that targets each victim with a series of repeat "hits." This tactic--criminals call it "reloading"--sets the elder fraud industry apart from groups that defraud younger individuals. Twelve key age-related fraud vulnerabilities are illustrated in the cases. So, too, are the scammers' skills in mapping their target's unique combination of vulnerabilities and then tailoring their narratives to exploit each one. Most of the cases highlight actual victims, scam artists or fraud fighters. Their individual stories range from inspiring and sometimes comical to frustrating and deeply disturbing. Readers with aging parents, law enforcement officials, medical professionals, members of the financial industry and others who work with older adults will find it particularly useful.

List of contents

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Elder Fraud Industry Marches Through Town

Part One. Before We Even Called It "Elder Fraud"

¿1.¿Will Garrett's Morning Run

¿2.¿Three Early Cases

¿3.¿Generating Obsession: The Fire Alarm Salesman and Three Grandmothers

¿4.¿Sweepstakes and Lottery Scams: The Cases of Mrs. B and Mrs. D

Part Two. Will, Bill and the War Against the Home Repair Fraud Gang

¿5.¿"Something big and sinister"

¿6.¿Road Trip to Rocky Mount

¿7.¿Without Something Else, These Cases Were Going to Be Hell to Prosecute

¿8.¿Special Agent Will Garrett Comes to Raleigh

¿9.¿Tucker Seeks Out "the Colonel"

Part Three. Victim Mindsets and Vulnerabilities

10.¿Mrs. S and the Twins

11.¿As Little as $1400 Can Be Devastating

12.¿"I found the Colonel!"

13.¿Twelve Key Victim Vulnerabilities and One Myth

14.¿Our ­House-Mazza Posse Gets Mired in the Mud

15.¿Call the Doctor!

Part Four. Payoff

16.¿The AG Calls Channel 11 Troubleshooter Jennifer Julian

17.¿"We need to go check on the Colonel!"

18.¿"­Boom-Boom!!!"

Part Five. The Losses Are Seldom Just Financial

19.¿You Can't Assign a Dollar Figure to It

20.¿"Reloading" and the Cycle of Fraud

21.¿Lewis the Elder Orphan

22.¿Will We Save the Elder Orphan?

23.¿George Love, Elder Fraud Fighter

Part Six. Judgment

24.¿"What were you trying to run on my grandmother yesterday?"

25.¿­House-Mazza: "Soon, every day will be Saturday!"

26.¿"Frog" and the Habitual Felons

Part Seven. Going International

27.¿Whack-a-Mole Leads to the "Means and Instrumentalities" Approach

28.¿Canada Calls-FBI Special Agent Joan Fleming Answers

Part Eight. Miracles and Grace

29.¿On a Muggy July Afternoon ... the McPhauls' Case

30.¿Miracle Just Off US 1 North

31.¿McPhaul Miracle Postscript

Part Nine. Money Mules, "VAP" and Scam Jams

32.¿Charles and Miriam Parker

33.¿VAP and the Retired Fortune 100 Company Exec

34.¿Justice for the Parkers?

35.¿What Are Scientists Saying About All This?

36.¿We're Scam Jammin'!

Part Ten. King Tommy Won't Relinquish His Throne

37.¿Tommy C, King of the Driveway Paving Scammers

38.¿Tommy C Is Back

39.¿Cat and Mouse with Tommy C

40.¿Famous Last Words About Tommy C

Part Eleven. More and More

41.¿Romance Scams: What Percy Sledge Said

42.¿Threats

43.¿"Bahkah?"

44.¿Barker Wasn't the Only One

45.¿Retired Fortune 100 Exec: The Rest of the Story

Conclusion: The Rewards of Fighting Elder Fraud

Chapter Notes

Bibliography

Index

About the author

David Neil Kirkman is a former enforcement attorney with the North Carolina Department of Justice's Consumer Protection Division. During his three decades there, he battled a growing and increasingly sophisticated network of US-based and overseas fraud groups that target seniors with an assortment of scams. He lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Product details

• Authors: David Neil Kirkman
• Publisher: Exposit Books
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.06.2020
• EAN: 9781476681498
• ISBN: 978-1-4766-8149-8
• No. of pages: 286
• Dimensions: 152 mm x 229 mm x 17 mm
• Weight: 468 g
• Subject: Guides > Self-help, everyday life > Lifestyle, personal development