Two Shocking Cases of Elder Abuse in Northern California

Two serious cases of elder abuse made headlines in the San Francisco Bay Area this past week. One involved the deliberate smothering of a patient by a caregiver in a South San Francisco nursing home, and the other involved financial elder abuse by a caregiver who stole money from patients. It is unfortunate that the very people who are charged with the care of elders are the same people who are abusing them. Elders are extremely vulnerable, and these incidences of abuse are not isolated occurrences. According to the Los Angeles Examiner, one out of 20 elders in California will be a victim of neglect or physical, financial, or psychological abuse this year.

Nursing Home Assistant Intentionally Smothers Patient

On March 22, Maximo Hong Fajardo Jr., a 37 year old certified nursing home assistant, intentionally smothered 87 year-old Barbara McIver with a pillow, in full view of other patients and staff. Ms. McIver was a patient at the Convalescent Center Mission Street in Daly City, south of San Francisco. Fajardo fled the care facility, carjacking a car and crashing it in his attempt to flee. He is currently held on $10 million bail.

Nursing Home Administrator Accused of Financial Elder Abuse

Across the San Francisco Bay in Berkeley, California, Concepcion "Connie" Pinco Giron, former assistant administrator of the Elmwood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, is accused of telling her supervisors that a patient at the home, Carnell Williams, was being transferred to another care facility. In fact, Giron moved Williams into her own home, and proceeded to cash Williams’ pension and social security checks. Giron is also accused of opening bank accounts at Citibank for five other patients and transferring money from those accounts into her own account. She wrote checks to herself from the patients’ accounts and used their ATM cards.

Giron has been charged with kidnapping to commit another crime, false imprisonment, elder abuse, and six counts of theft from elder or dependent adults by a caretaker. She is currently being held in lieu of $365,000 bail.

Thanks for reading my blog. If you have a question or comment, feel free to respond to this posting, but keep in mind your response will not be confidential. If you or a loved one has been the victim of abuse, negligence, or neglect by a nursing home, contact an attorney to find out your legal rights and options. You can also contact me to discuss your matter confidentially.

Incidents of Financial Elder Abuse Are on the Rise as California’s Baby Boomer Generation Begins to Age

Financial elder abuse is a growing concern among California lawmakers, financial regulatory institutions, and elder abuse prevention groups. A study released last year by the MetLife Mature Market Institute, the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse, and the Center for Gerontology at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, reported an annual loss of $2.6 billion due to incidents of financial elder abuse, which many experts believe are underreported.

California news articles are constantly reporting on incidents of financial elder abuse committed by caregivers and family members, as well as by financial institutions and their employees. Below are just a few recent examples:

• A February 4, 2010 San Francisco Chronicle article reported the theft of $61,000 from a 96-year-old woman by a Bank of America customer service representative who convinced the woman to designate him as her “personal banker,” allowing him to access her accounts.


• A January 14, 2010 Santa Maria Times article reported that the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department arrested a caregiver who was suspected of stealing over $10,000 from an 88-year-old woman by cashing her unused checks.


• A January 10, 2010 Investment News article reported that $1.6 million was awarded to a 95-year-old man by a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration panel after it found that a Beverly Hills investment firm, along with two of its long-time brokers, convinced the man to make overly risky investments and engaged in self-dealing. (FINRA is an independent regulatory agency, empowered by the federal government to oversee securities and brokerage firms and protect investors.)
  

If you believe that you or a loved one has been a victim of financial elder abuse, contact The Law Offices of James R. Gillen for a confidential consultation.