My grandfather, Steve, is being scammed out of his money by a group of women including his gardener. Steve is in his mid 80's and lives in Florida. He is retired and recently hired a new gardener. She introduced him to her supposedly wealthy friend who soon thereafter was "injured" in Maine. The gardener has convinced him to "loan" the women money, in cash, to pay for upkeep on her home, groceries, cable, bodyguards to protect her from her ex-husband and son who want to kill her, and many other things.

It is at the point where he is giving these women over $10k a month out of the only account that my parents have access to (so it could be a lot more from his other accounts).

When my parents tried to talk to Steve he says they are trying to put him in a nursing home and steal his money.

He insists that he knows what he is doing and he does not need anyone's help. We tried calling the Florida Abuse Hotline. Their response was that he can give his money away if he wants to. We recently spoke to his doctor who said that one of Steve's neighbors was also worried about him, the gardener had been coming around quite a bit.

Apparently another investigation has begun since we spoke to the doctor but nothing has come of it yet. Is there anything else we can do? Any help would be greatly appreciated

Sounds like a con to me. I wonder if a call to the police or FBI would help. Do any Consumerists have any advice on how the family can intervene? Or is it the old guy's right to do whatever he wants with his money? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Tricks of the trade [Dateline via AllFinancialMatters]

Here's Kimberly's full letter:

I am a volunteer for Catholic Charities and my new client Sandra recently went into Grossinger Auto in Chicago, IL to buy a car. She was approved for a brand new 2007 Pontiac with all the options available by GMAC. She makes $900 a month in social security, has had several strokes so she does not have a valid license, and is in credit card debt up to her eyeballs. She is a 65 year old women who also suffers from Dementia.
 
GMAC approved her loan even with her bad credit rating! I believe the scam is working. Sandra lives in public housing and there is NO way that she has the credit to get a new car. Yet, GMAC gave her the money to do so.
 
One month after she failed to make her payment they repossessed the car. Now they say she owes $7,995.80 for the difference of the car and what they got for the car at auction. I have tried repeatedly to get a hold of someone who could explain to me their loan process but was hung up on. They have not responded to my complaints to the Better Business Bureau. I also went to Grossinger Auto and asked how they could sell this woman a car and they also slammed the door in my face. What a creative way to scam!!

Bank Manager Fleeces Elderly Man [The Tampa Tribune] (Thanks to ForgottenPassword!)

CEO Vinod Gupta (pictured):

We have not perpetuated any illegal activity. We have over four million customers. If someone buys a gun and shoots someone, is the gun dealer responsible? No. We ask that our customers follow the law.

infoUSA's public statement:

Unfortunately, the New York Times story plays on public anger against these criminals and natural sympathy for their victims to imply that legitimate businesses like InfoUSA are culpable. It unfairly tars the reputation of the direct marketing and banking industries by emphasizing out of all proportion the sad circumstances of a single victim of someone else's crime.

CFO Stormy Dean:

If we were doing something wrong, the F.T.C. would have investigated us, and to the best of our knowledge, the F.T.C. has never opened an investigation. If the FTC has never alleged misuse of data, then we must be doing it right.

Ed Mallin, president of InfoUSA services group:

My people aren't investigators, they're marketers, and it's unfair to expect them to know everything about who is buying from us and every database that is listed on our Web site."

2 Firms Tied to Phone Lists Will Review Their Policies [NYT]
infoUSA Responds to New York Times Article About 3-Year Old, Closed Investigation into Telemarketing Scams [infoUSA]
PREVIOUSLY: infoUSA Marketed Lists Of "Gullible" Seniors To Known Scammers, Wachvoia Processed The Unsigned Checks

Pretending to be updating their Social Security and insurance records, the criminals tricked the retirees into giving up the information needed to drain their money dry.

The lists were sold to them by infoUSA, one of the biggest aggregators and resellers of consumer information, with packaged lists that practically put out the shingle for scammers. Internal emails reveal that infoUSA execs were aware that some of these clients had been prosecuted for or were under investigation for telemarketing scams.

The banking data was then used to create unsigned checks to withdraw the money. Wachovia accepted $142 million of these checks, while failing to screen firms, respond to thousands of complaints, or react when 50-60% of the checks bounced. Five other banks were involved, too, but Wachovia was the largest.

The worst part is that many of those bilked were just lonely and appreciated someone to talk to. And the thieves were happy to listen.

Make sure to warn older family members and neighbors about the dangers of giving away personal information, especially bank account and social security numbers, over the phone. Or try actually talking to them so they don't join a sweepstakes just to have a chance with interacting with another human being. — BEN POPKEN

Bilking the Elderly, With a Corporate Assist [NYT]

Further investigation found that it was actually a woman using his Aunt's identity who cleaned out the box. This woman had "befriended" the aunt in the months before her death.

The tale inside reads like it fell from the pages of a pulp detective novel...

Ariel writes:

Okay, where do I begin?? Let me start with a brief synopsis of the circumstances surrounding the reason for this email.

My aunt recently passed away after battling breast cancer for several years. My aunt lived in Manhattan in a tiny apartment for many years up until her death. She was eccentric to put it lightly and probably suffered from some mental disorder that was probably never diagnosed. She also had lots of money both in the form of cash, bank accounts and stocks. During the last 8-9 months of her life, a woman came into her life and befriended my aunt. This woman is married with a child and is the CEO of a fledgling water company in NY. Somehow, during the final month of my aunt's life (while she could no longer walk and was on heavy morphine) this woman managed to get control of many of my aunt's assets. Bank accounts that were set aside for friends and family were suddenly transferred into this persons name. She cleaned out several safety deposit boxes while my aunt was still alive, and then cleaned out at least one after my aunt died. Oh, the original copy of my aunts will mysteriously disappeared.

This leads me to the point of this email. My aunt had at least one safety deposit box/account with Bank of America which contained $75,000 in cash + jewelry and other paperwork. The day after my aunt died, my mother arrived in New York. The first thing that she did was go to the funeral home to see her sister. After going to the funeral home she went to the Bank of America in midtown Manhattan to begin the process of closing out accounts and safety deposit boxes. Upon arriving at the Bank of America she was asked to sign into a register before she was allowed to access my aunts safety deposit box. To her shock, someone had already accessed the safety deposit box that morning. Can you guess who it was? Yes! This woman who had known my aunt for less than a year had gone into Bank of America and signed her name and noted POA (power of attorney) on the register. When my mother checked the safety deposit box, all of the cash was gone. Several pieces of jewelry were also missing, however the papers (of no financial value) were still there.

When my mother went back to the bank agent and asked who had accessed the box earlier that morning she was even more shocked by what she was told.

According to the bank agent, my aunt had been the one who came and accessed the box! My aunt who had died the night before in her apartment had walked into Bank of America and cleaned out her safety deposit box?? My mother told the agent that her sister had died the night before and that there was no way that she could have been at the bank. But, the agent insisted that the woman who came into the bank was my aunt, in fact she showed ID. My mom demanded to speak the bank manager. When she asked the Bank manager to call the police, he/she refused and put away the safety deposit register. Apparently he then called his boss and they came back and told my mother that they could no longer talk to her about this and that if she wanted access to anything, she would have to subpoena them.

Of course there was video tape of this woman entering the bank and going to the safety deposit box. However, the NYPD claims that the bank will likely never give up the video tape (if it still exists). The bank will no longer speak to my mother and clearly is trying to cover it's a$$. It would seem like Bank of America screwed up big time by letting someone show false ID into a safety deposit box and steal $75,000 in cash + jewelry. Let's not forget that this woman had no legal right to access this account after my aunt died. The law states that power of attorney ends when the person dies. Since my aunt died the night before, this woman had no legal power, yet she still wrote POA on the register.

So what do we do here? Do we cause a huge stink? The NYPD said good luck in trying to get Bank of America to admit fault. In fact, good luck trying to sue them in court. This woman who committed forgery, identity theft, and grand theft larceny is sitting pretty in her apartment in Manhattan counting the nearly $300,000 in cash and jewelry that she stole from my aunt. Not only was my aunt dying, but she was on morphine and many other drugs that allowed this woman to manipulate and take advantage of her. Doesn't Bank of America have a duty to it's customers (alive and deceased) to protect their assets and provide adequate security measures so that the theft of $75,000 doesn't happen? If a person walked into bank of America and stole $75,000, don't you think the bank would be pressing charges?

Bank of America sucks! It let a woman steal my aunts money the day after my aunt died of breast cancer!

What should I do? Would should the family do?

Sincerely,

Ariel N.

Ariel, condolences for your loss. Deaths are never easy, and for this one to be surrounded by this crime must be very painful.

That said, I have two questions before posting this story.

How did you family come to know about this woman who befriended your mother?
Were any of your family around when you aunt died? If not, why not?

Ben,

Thank you for the comments. My aunt was eccentric to say the least. Her passing was not a surprise in itself except for the fact that my mother was going to visit her just as she passed away.

To answer your questions...

My mother actually met this woman several months ago while she was in New York visiting with my aunt. As things have unravelled we have spoken to many of my Aunt's friends who all have talked about this woman who came into her life late in the game. This woman is the daughter of an attorney (prominent) that my aunt dated years ago. According to my aunt, she didn't know this woman more than casually during that period.

None of the family was with my aunt when she passed away. There were at least two people in her apartment when she passed away in addition to the paramedics and police. One was one of the caretakers (whom I believe called 911) and the other was this woman who eventually stole much of my aunt's money. This woman grabbed (according to witnesses) my aunts camcorder (and stole it) and videotaped my aunt in her soiled underwear as the paramedics were administering CPR. One of the police officers at the scene actually had to forcibly tell this woman to stop recording the death. My mother was apparently on the phone with one of the two women as this was going on screaming that there was a DNR for my aunt. To date, the woman who stole the money and took advantage of my aunt will not return the money, tape, camera or jewelry. My mother arrived in New York the day after my aunt passed away which is also the same day that this woman went and cleared out the safety deposit box a Bank of America.

I hope this is useful. This could be a story about elder abuse among other things, but I (and my family) are extremely angry with Bank of America for letting this woman who had no legal right, to access my aunt's safety deposit box and steal $75,000 in cash and jewelry.

Sincerely,

Ariel

We spoke with Ariel by phone and yes, the family already took the case to the police. However, the detective ruled that it was a civil affair, not a criminal.

We also found that the highest ranking person they spoke with was the branch manager. We advised busting BoA corporate's door down with the story. They might have a very different story than a local manager covering his ass.

Lastly, if the aunt had renter's insurance, it may cover the safe deposit box, even in this bizarre circumstance. We recommend checking in with the insurance company.

As an odd coda, the family knows who the conwoman is. She hasn't denied taking any of the money, and has in fact written the family a letter saying that she "deserved" it.

Any other advice for the beleagured family? — BEN POPKEN

UPDATE: Ariel writes

Holy cow! I had no idea it would garner such a quick set of responses from your readers. It is great that people have responded with supportive comments regarding our situation. I believe that my mother (administrator of the estate) is in the process of assessing the cost to benefit ration of suing the thief. We have been told that it could cost from $30,000-$70,000 to file suit without any sort of guarantee that we will win or be able to collect if we do win.

Just to clarify, the NYPD did say that what this woman did was criminal, but due to the amount of time that had lapsed between the crime and when my mother was actually sitting in the NYPD portable would make it nearly impossible to get any evidence from BofA and therefore attempt to prosecute the thief. Perhaps it was the D.A.'s call?