Justice department intensifies its fight against elder fraud

The Justice Department (DOJ) announced today that it would be accelerating its efforts to fight criminals who target older Americans for financial fraud. The new push will include adding 14

U.S. Attorney’s Offices to the DOJ’s Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force — more than tripling the current number of offices, from six to 20. Other existing Strike Force members include

the Department’s Consumer Protection Branch, the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Homeland Security Investigations, which collaborate to fight elder fraud schemes. All of the

DOJ’s U.S. Attorneys Offices across the country are focused on the effort, said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division,

“but these are taking an extra step, dedicating additional resources.” The financial exploitation of older adults has ballooned since COVID-19 began its rapid spread in March 2020. A new 

report from AARP found that the rate of such exploitation between then and now has more than doubled. Tech scams are particularly rampant; cybercrime reported to the FBI cost Americans 50

and older nearly $3 billion last year, a 62 percent increase from 2020, according to data from the bureau. “This kind of behavior is just despicable,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland

said in an interview with AARP about the new Elder Fraud effort. “The [DOJ’s] Civil Division is doing everything to fight against it.” Kathy Stokes, director of fraud prevention programs

with AARP, called this “welcome news,” and said, “We need to do more to take down these relentless crime rings and lean on tools that can return money to victims who are otherwise left

financially devastated.”​ ​  MORE ARRESTS AND CONVICTIONS Along with announcing its expanded Strike Force, DOJ officials highlighted the agency’s recent successes in bringing fraud

perpetrators to justice. Among them is an investment adviser who stole more than $9.3 million from his customers in a Ponzi scheme. He was sentenced to nearly 22 years in prison in March

after being convicted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio. And members of a criminal ring were arrested earlier this year for orchestrating a large-scale 

grandparent scam, in which they called older adults and posed as a grandchild or another family member in crisis with an urgent need for money. “Often they’ll tell the victim, ‘You can’t

tell anyone about this,’ ” said Boynton, adding that many older people lost tens of thousands of dollars to this gang of thieves. The San Diego Elder Justice Task Force — a collaboration

between the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, the District Attorney’s Office and all San Diego County law enforcement agencies — prosecuted the case, which so far has led to prison terms for

most of the perpetrators arrested (a few are awaiting sentencing). It marked the first time that criminals behind such scams have been prosecuted and convicted under the Racketeer Influenced

and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). “It was a big deal,” said Boynton. “It’s a powerful statute. It allows you to go after all of the participants in a conspiracy, and there are some

pretty significant penalties. … One was sentenced to nine years in prison.”