Fraud Against The Elderly & Elderly Abuse

Today we thank Maxine Bernstein of the Oregonian for a couple of articles that you can read in their entirety at http://www.oregonlive.com/ by searching her name. All of the information in this blog entry is paraphrased from two of her stories about Evelyn Roth. It is one of those stories that when you read it, it not only makes you angry at the human race it also tugs at your heart strings. The follow-up story restores your faith in the human race and makes you shed a happy tear or two.

Evelyn Roth, a sprightly white-haired woman with an outstanding memory, says the only personal item she still has is the 25th anniversary diamond ring that her late husband gave her. Shortly after two women relatives gained a power of attorney from the dying 83 year-old woman they took all her possessions. They sold her house of 56 years. The drained all her bank accounts. They pocketed the over $300,000 from their thefts, sharing the money among themselves and family members. Evelyn Roth made a an amazing recovery and had no idea what her relatives were up to. Roth's cousin Virginia Kuehn,66, and her niece,53, face a thirty-five count indictment charging them with first-degree criminal mistreatment, aggravated theft, and first-degree theft. They have pleaded not guilty using the excuse that Roth's doctor "guaranteed them that Roth was going to die." "They robbed me blind," Roth said. "Everything was for money, just to get money, money, money. That's not the way it should be." Roth pursued criminal charges because she's lost all her possessions to relatives who betrayed her trust. "I think they need to be taught a lesson. ... I feel like I helped raise Virginia. That's why it hurts so bad." Roth a former Sunday school teacher worked at a branch of US Bank for thirty-five years.

In February 2008, Roth fell ill. A doctor removed a cancerous growth from her esophagus. Kuehn took her to the hospital for the outpatient surgery and drove her back home. No one ever checked on Roth after that. The day after the surgery, Roth fell and wasn't discovered until four days later. Phillip Klein visited the house, concerned because his friend hadn't shown up for their weekly dinner date. Police found Roth on the floor, severely dehydrated, confused and suffering from delusions. She was hospitalized for two weeks and then placed in a nursing home. Through the spring of 2008, she continued to receive radiation treatments for cancer. On April 24, 2008 she signed over the power of attorney to Kuehn and Jingling. She remembers them wheeling her to a nearby bank to get it notarized. "I kept insisting, 'I want to take care of my bills. I can take care of myself,'" Roth recalled. "They said, 'We have to be able to take care of you if you get sick.'" Four days later, Kuehn and Jingling each wrote $12,000 checks to themselves out of Roth's account. About that time, Jeanine Boldt-Ginn, the daughter of one of Roth's close friends, helped her mother track Roth down. They found Roth at a care center and became reacquainted. Roth's health steadily improved, surprising her doctors. In addition to the money they stole from Roth, Kuehn and Jingling cleaned out all of Roth's personal belongings, including an antique china collection and the mahogany furniture her husband made. Roth's car was also sold.

Boldt-Ginn, and her husband, Jim Ginn, worked tirelessly to help Roth unravel what had happened to her belongings. They got county adult protective services to investigate. The investigator described the suspects as "cold and callous" showing no concern for Roth's well-being. Everyone that met Roth during the investigation were amazed at how she kept her spirits up. Roth wants to see her relatives go to jail. "I guess I'm just a stubborn old lady."

Does that story make you want to slug someone? Now here is a follow-up story that will make you want to hug someone.

Again the author is Maxine Bernstein of The Oregonian.

"Evelyn Roth, 83, said Monday she's collecting all the comments from readers who were moved by the story of how she lost everything to relatives now charged with stealing from her as she lay near death. " "I never realized that people would respond like that," Roth said. "A lot of people have had a lot of troubles too." There have been a flood of offers from strangers wanting to donate money to Roth. Others wrote seeking guidance on how to help their own elderly parents or grandparents avoid such fraud. The story was picked up nationally, sparking comments from Oregon to Louisiana to Pennsylvania. One reader asked that a trust account be set up for Roth and another reader said he was ashamed to be of the same human race as those "callous thieves." Jeanine Boldt-Ginn, Roth's close friend and onetime Sunday School student, who now has Roth's power of attorney, doesn't think a special fund is necessary. Boldt-Ginn indicated they are trying to retrieve a third of the estimated $310,000 stolen from Roth. The money will be used to move her into a new assisted living center.

Let's close today with some statistics:

The National Center on Elder Abuse estimated that more than a million (1,000,935) seniors suffer abuse or neglect in a single year. Some estimates say the total could be as high as 1,475,975 or as the population ages could exceed two million.

The National Academies estimate between 1 and 2 million Americans age 65 or older have been injured, exploited or otherwise mistreated by someone on whom they depended for care.

Long-term care residents suffer 1.9 million adverse drug events every year, 70% of which are preventable. As many as 86,000 of these events are fatal or life-threatening.

It is estimated that few as one in five cases of elder abuse is reported. For every case reported to authorities, five more go unreported.

Some studies have suggested only about 1 in 14 incidents of elderly abuse is ever reported.

COMMENTS ARE APPRECIATED!

TODAY'S TRIVIA

Yesterday’s answers: back of a dime, War of 1812, caused by insects, CPR ABC's, and reflect.

TODAY IS WHAT DO THESE THREE THINGS HAVE IN COMMON:

Yerkes, Palomar, Griffith.

1835, 1910, 1986 other than being years.

A fishing lure, An Actor, a broken leg.

Ailurophobia, cynophobia, ornithophobia. more detail than just fears.

Escalus, Friar John, Lady Capulet.