With an eye toward educating readers on what happens and why in these situations, I’ll offer a “Reader’s Digest” version of a classic case I was involved in (names have been changed to protect privacy):

“Edward” was in his early 80s and lived alone in the house he and his wife had shared for more than 30 years. He suffered from severe dementia and although he lost his wife 10 years ago, he thought she died recently. He had poor personal hygiene, a cluttered and filthy house, hadn’t left home in years, and repeated himself constantly. Edward had family but they were distant geographically and emotionally.

Although Edward lived in squalor, he had been a company man most of his life and got a nice retirement income plus Social Security. He had few bills, so his income far exceeded his expenses. Due to his dementia he didn’t pay much attention to his mail or the sizable checks that arrived regularly.

Luckily, Edward hadn’t been left to fend completely for himself. His neighbor “Stacy” had known him for years and, after his wife died, helped Edward pay his bills and periodically cleaned his house so Edward would be comfortable. With Stacy’s help, Edward lived in the family home unmolested for 10 years.

But looking after Edward wasn’t easy. Stacy had her own family and house to care for.  The stench and filth of Edward’s house made being there physically taxing. Edward could be cantankerous, occasionally accusing Stacy of stealing money or possessions. Finally Stacy had had enough, and decided to take a sabbatical from her self-imposed duties. She called Edward’s relatives, who promised to check on him.

During this break, Edward received a call from a female salesperson and, as he was apt to do, he talked at length about his dead wife and how he lived alone and wanted to die too. It didn’t take long for the caller to catch on; soon she and two men traveled to Tuolumne County to visit Edward. While the woman sat in Edward’s musty living room, her “friends” collected most of his valuable property, including an original Fender guitar, guns and stock certificates.

Luckily, Stacy hadn’t completely stopped watching over Edward. She took the license number of the woman’s car and went over to speak to Edward once the group left. Edward told her he had been scared by the visitors.

The lessons here are many:

• A reclusive senior is a crime waiting to happen. Make sure they have visitors – the more the better, because criminals hate being seen or noticed.
• If a senior has a good income or valuable possessions, assume they could be a target so make a list or videotape their property so someone can tell if items are missing or track them if they turn up missing. Have more than one person assist with finances if possible.
• Where the senior’s family is distant or not involved, get them involved!  If they can’t be there to watch over their loved one, a system of regular phone calls can keep them informed.
• If the senior has a caregiver, encourage the caregiver to take advantage of respite services (where someone will come in and relieve the caregiver to give them a break to recharge their batteries) so there aren’t any unplanned breaks in care.

If the senior has dementia, these precautions become even more critical, because those who cannot fully care for themselves are the easiest targets for criminals.

As a postscript, the female in was caught and prosecuted. She was already on the run from authorities in her hometown for other theft-related offenses. And Edward became a victim of elder financial abuse a year later, but that is another story for another article.

Eric Hovatter is a deputy district attorney for Tuolumne County. Contact him at (209) 588-5450.

© 2008, Friends and Neighbors Magazine