Oregon study: More seniors exploited financially

The second ever comprehensive study of elder financial exploitation in Oregon was released Wednesday at the Financial Crimes and Digital Evidence Conference in Salem, sponsored by the United States Attorney’s Office.

The study of over 600 reports was conducted by the Office of Adult Abuse Prevention and Investigations), a shared service between Department of Human Services and the Oregon Health Authority.

It is a follow up to the 2011 retrospective study on Financial Exploitation and helps provide a better understanding and picture of financial abuse in Oregon.

In 2013, financial exploitation allegations increased by 18% over 2012 and represented 42% of all the abuse investigations conducted by Adult Protective services. These 3,398 allegations were documented in 2,929 individual reports.

The discrepancy in numbers exists because one report may include multiple allegations, multiple victims, or multiple perpetrators. Of these 2,929 individual reports, 623 were read and hand mined for the data included in this study.

The study showed that the average loss per each substantiated case of monetary theft was $24,915. There are many other losses to victims such as personal property, unauthorized credit card use, and medication that can be more difficult to quantify financially.

“Financial exploitation of individuals over the age of 65 and with physical disabilities has become the most commonly investigated type of abuse that community adult protective services addresses in Oregon,” said Marie Cervantes, Director of OAAPI. “By digging deeper into the data with this second study, we are able to better see trends and methods more clearly. This will help us to come up with better prevention and education strategies.”

“For many of our vulnerable adults that are exploited can mean years of hard work, money to pay basic living essentials such as food and electricity, and hopes for their future security are gone,” she said.

Cervantes added that not only is financial abuse common, but it often goes hand-in-hand with other types of abuse. One finding in this study is that even though financial exploitation is the most commonly investigated form of abuse, physical and verbal abuse are the fastest growing areas of abuse in Oregon.

Additionally, the study revealed that for the first time, non-mandatory reporters, such as bank employees and family members, were the most frequent reporters of financial abuse.

According to study author and researcher Rebecca Fetters, this highlights the fact that even though bankers are not mandatory reporters, they have taken it upon themselves to do the right thing and recognize that they, along with close friends and family, are in a unique and important position to identify the warning signs and do something about it.

The study also points out that national studies confirm for every one case of financial exploitation that reaches the attention of APS or other authorities, an estimated 44 cases go unreported.

The research also confirmed that the major perpetrators of financial exploitation in Oregon continue to be family members. This includes spouses, children, siblings, and grandchildren. Daughters (16%) were slightly more prevalent abusers than sons (14%). Family relationships accounted for 46% of all substantiated perpetrators of financial exploitation.

Beyond family members, the second most common type of alleged perpetrator was acquaintances, followed closely by non-relative caregivers.

The study says that less than 5 percent of the sample was victimized by someone who was truly a stranger. Therefore, it is important to remember that most perpetrators of financial exploitation in Oregon have a trusted relationship with the victim.

The results of this study, and particularly the regional data, will be used to identify targeted areas of need throughout the state and to provide training and technical assistance to those areas.

To view the study in its entirety, go to: http://www.oregon.gov/dhs/abuse/Pages/index.aspx