Financial Exploitation of the Elderly & Florida Lawsuits

On January 22,2017, Yahoo News reports about a former North Miami nursing home employee who  faces three counts each of grand theft and exploitation of the elderly. She was arrested in August 2016. According to the article, Haymee Hernandez is accused of taking advantage of three sick or disabled elderly nursing home residents and stealing more than $13,000 from their bank accounts. Allegedly, she conned these victims into giving her their ATM cards and withdrew money. Unfortunately, financial exploitation of the elderly has become a huge problem in Florida. How can you protect your loved ones? Do you believe that someone you know has been financially exploited? Do you need a West Palm Beach guardianship or probate attorney?

An article in The Indianapolis Star quotes a 2011 MetLife Study of Elder Financial Abuse, which states that, “nationally, older adults lose about $2.9 billion each year through financial abuse and exploitation. Many times, the person who is financially exploiting the elderly person is a caretaker or family member. West Palm Beach guardianship lawyers know that this can make the situation very complicated and difficult. It is important to know that there are both civil and criminal remedies to financial exploitation of the elderly in Florida. Here, Hernandez was a trusted Medicaid Coordinator at the nursing home in which she committed the abuse. To read the entire article, click here.