Newsfeed –Thursday, January 16, 2014
The newsfeed includes articles and stories related to abuse of elders and adults with disabilities. Articles related to elders appear in the top half of the newsfeed. Articles related to abuse of adults with disabilities appear towards the bottom. To subscribe to the NCEA listserv, please send an email with your name, occupation, your organization/agency name, city and state, and a statement about your professional interest or expertise in elder abuse to NCEA@UCI.edu. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter! An archived collection of previous newsfeeds is available here: http://ncea.posthaven.com/
A calendar of upcoming elder abuse and neglect events and funding opportunities can be found at the bottom of the newsfeed.
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ELDER ABUSE NEWSFEED
NATIONAL, Coshocton Tribune, January 15, 2014
Don’t fall victim to these 7 scams
This article discusses the top 7 scams that are most popular currently. The author explains how scammers seem to be becoming bolder and more treacherous.
CALIFORNIA, Redlands Daily Facts, January 11, 2014
Watch out for scammers offering initial free services
Columnist Matt Le Vesque said that the most recent contractor fraud investigation case he worked on can be generally described as the “free inspection scam.” The author states that this scam works best in senior communities where there is a high concentration of seniors at home, without family or caregivers, and ideally where neighbors don’t talk to each other very much.
CALIFORNIA (Los Altos), Los Altos Town Crier, January 15, 2014
Same wolf, different clothing: Assistant DA says scam tactics targeting seniors rarely change
http://www.losaltosonline.com/special-sections2/sections/senior-lifestyles/46560-
Despite the common nature of scam tactics, Janet Berry, deputy district attorney in the Elder Fraud Unit of the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office, said seniors and other residents in the county remain at risk of having their identities stolen and, in turn, their money. She noted that in 2012, more than 12 million Americans were victims of identity theft – which she called a “small slice” of the scamming pie – at a combined cost of $21 billion. Out of that pie, she added, was $2.6 billion lost in senior-related scams.
CALIFORNIA (San Diego), KMVT, January 14, 2014
California fugitive nurse caught in Canada
http://www.kmvt.com/news/latest/240114071.html
A fugitive nurse accused of sexually assaulting a 98-year-old woman in San Diego has been found working as a live-in caregiver for a severely disabled 8-year-old boy in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The accused nurse is charged in California with elder neglect and committing a lewd act upon a dependent adult. The charges stem from a shocking incident caught on video in which the accused and another nurse were allegedly seen fondling each other while touching a 98-year-old stroke victim who lay helpless in the bed beside them.
CALIFORNIA (Santa Barbara), KSBY, January 10, 2014
Woman sentenced for taking money from fire victims
http://www.ksby.com/news/woman-sentenced-for-taking-money-from-fire-victims/
A woman who pleaded guilty to taking money from wildfire victims was sentenced this week to 11 years and 8 months in state prison. Penny Estes, 64, was charged with 28 felony counts of diverting construction funds, grand theft, theft by false pretenses, theft from an elder or dependent adult, and three counts of failing to file state income tax returns.
DELAWARE (New Castle), WBOC 16, January 15, 2014
Del. Man charged with abusing 79-year-old mother
http://www.wboc.com/story/24454949/del-man-charged-with-abusing-79-year-old-mother
A New Castle man has been charged with abusing his 79-year-old mother. New Castle County Police officers were called to Christiana Hospital for a report of a woman who had been taken to the emergency room with injuries on Sunday. Police say the woman, who cannot care for herself and relies heavily on her son, suffered injuries to her upper body and had been mistreated.
FLORIDA (Apopka), Orlando Sentinel, January 13, 2014
Apopka high aide suspended after elder-abuse charge
A teacher's aide accused of abusing her elderly mother has been suspended from her job. The woman was arrested on a felony elder-abuse charge Saturday, after her mother, who is over the age of 80, was found living in filth with nothing to eat, Apopka police said. The 80-year-old woman had been living at Crosby Motor Inn since December with more than 16 cats.
KANSAS (Wichita), Kansas Health Institute, January 10, 2014
Tougher penalties sought for Medicaid fraud and elder abuse
http://www.khi.org/news/2014/jan/10/tougher-penalties-sought-medicaid-fraud-and-elder-/
A group of state officials announced Thursday that they will introduce legislation this session to impose tougher penalties for Medicaid and securities fraud and to make it easier to prosecute those who swindle the elderly. The extent of the proposed penalties are being worked out, King said, as the bills are being drafted.
MARYLAND (Washington County), McKnight’s, January 15, 2014
Assisted living owner gets three-year sentence for dementia resident who fell through a hole in a the floor
A man who previously owned an assisted living facility has been sentenced to three years in prison for neglecting a resident who fell through a hole in the floor and now is unable to walk. In August 2012, an elderly woman with dementia fell nine feet from the second-floor bathroom to a dining room in the Soma Manor House facility in Boonsboro, MD, the charges stated.
MASSACHUSETTS, The Boston Globe, January 6, 2014
Scammers take aim at aging population
Roughly 21,000 times last year, physicians, social workers, family members, and other concerned residents contacted Massachusetts Protective Services authorities to report suspicions that an elderly person was being abused. In about one third of those cases, the concern involved financial exploitation, according to state officials, a problem that is expected to grow significantly as the population ages and the number of older adults left vulnerable by Alzheimer’s disease nationwide is projected to double, and perhaps triple, by 2050.
MICHIGAN (Macomb County), Macomb Daily CRIME, January 13, 2014
Flamingo motel owner to face abuse charges
http://www.macombdaily.com/general-news/20140113/flamingo-motel-owner-to-face-abuse-charges
The 55-year-old owner of the Flamingo Motel in Fraser was bound over to Macomb County Circuit Court on charges he abused his parents. Eric Gala, charged with two counts of vulnerable adult abuse, was ordered Monday to face the charges in circuit court by 39th District Court Judge Joseph Boedeker, who presided over a two-day preliminary examination.
MICHIGAN (Warren), Hometown Life, January 14, 2014
Woman gets probation for theft from Canton dementia patient
A Westland woman who police say stole jewelry from dementia patients at a Canton assisted living center has been placed on probation for 18 months and ordered to pay restitution and court fees totaling $2,473. Gail Lynn Good, 45, avoided a potential four-year prison term when she was sentenced Tuesday by Wayne County Circuit Judge James Chylinski, court records show.
MICHIGAN (Detroit), CBS Detroit, January 11, 2014
11 in-home care workers charged with Medicaid abuse
http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2014/01/11/11-in-home-care-workers-charged-with-medicaid-abuse/
Eleven people, many from Metro Detroit, have been charged with Medicaid abuse, to the tune of $60,000. Schuette said all 11 defendants improperly received Medicaid funds intended to pay for home help services for Medicaid beneficiaries. Many of the defendants were family members of Medicaid beneficiaries who allegedly received checks for services rendered to the beneficiaries after they died.
MISSISSIPPI (Jackson), News Channel 12, January 15, 2014
Jackson resident arrested for exploitation of a vulnerable person
http://www.wjtv.com/story/24463288/jackson-resident-arrested-for-exploitation-of-a-vulnerable-person
A Jackson resident has been arrested on a multi-count indictment for felony exploitation of a vulnerable person, announced Attorney General Jim Hood today. The man is accused of exploiting over $150,000.00 from a non-family member.
MISSOURI (Perryville), TribTown, January 15, 2014
SE Mo. Coroner charged with exploitation of a 94-year-old woman and theft
http://www.tribtown.com/view/story/c65649090ac64b2ea9226e71b89509c5/MO--Coroner-Charged
Perry County Coroner Herbert Miller is facing felony charges after he allegedly spent the money of a 94-year-old woman for his own use. Miller, of Perryville, was charged Monday with financial exploitation of the elderly and theft after an investigation by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Service.
NORTH CAROLINA (Greensboro), News and Records, January 12, 2014
State fines Greensboro adult care center
http://www.news-record.com/news/local_news/article_f4bb8c16-173a-549e-9d05-17921d4e08a0.html
Workers at a local adult care center made mistakes in 2013 that resulted in the death of one resident and jeopardized the safety of others, state investigators say. On Dec. 19, Greensboro Living Center received three fines totaling $90,500 from the state agency, which monitors adult care centers.
TEXAS (Livingston), KTRE, January 13, 2014
Livingston PD: Goodrich cons dementia patient into selling truck
http://www.ktre.com/story/24437734/livingston-pd-goodrich-cons-dementia-into-selling-truck
Officers from the Chicago Police Department handed a 45-year-old Goodrich woman over to Livingston authorities Sunday after she alleged convinced a man in her care to sell his truck for a ridiculously low price. The family found out about it and reported it to the Livingston Police Department.
UTAH (Orem), The Salt Lake Tribune, January 14, 2014
Orem man admits beating stepfather to death
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/57396554-78/diem-rowley-jackson-stepfather.html.csp
On Tuesday, Diem pleaded guilty to homicide by assault and aggravated abuse of a vulnerable adult, both third-degree felonies. His plea deal specifies that the two convictions will run concurrently. Diem faces up to five years in prison will be sentenced on Feb. 25, according to Utah County Attorney Tim Taylor.
WASHINGTON (Olympia), KIRO TV, January 10, 2014
Caregiver sentenced for abuse of elderly dementia patient
http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/caregiver-sentenced-abuse-elderly-dementia-patient/ncjtx/
Cameron Malizio was called to court today to be sentenced for assaulting a patient at the Garden Courte MemoryCare Center in Olympia. Thurston County prosecutors say Malizio and a coworker swore at the 90-year-old woman, locked her in a chair, doused her with cold water and then, according to Laura Wohl from the Olympia Police Department, "The caregivers soaped up a washrag, made a comment that she needed her mouth washed out with soap and they shoved the rag into her mouth."
INTERNATIONAL (United Kingdom), Sky NEWS, January 10, 2014
Care workers jailed over abuse ‘for sport’
http://news.sky.com/story/1193306/care-workers-jailed-over-abuse-for-sport
Residents at Hillcroft nursing home in Slyne-with-Hest, Lancaster, were mocked, bullied and tormented because they would have no memory of the abuse, with one man having his foot stamped on deliberately and another nearly tipped out of his wheelchair. In November, Carol Ann Moore, 54, Katie Cairns, 27, and Gemma Pearson, 28, were found guilty by a jury at Preston Crown Court of ill-treatment or neglect of a person who lacks capacity, under the Mental Capacity Act, after a four week trial.
INTERNATIONAL (United Kingdom), BBC NEWS, January 15, 2014
Holmwood house nursing home failures uncovered
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-25725115
Repeated failures in care at a Bristol nursing home have been discovered by a BBC investigation. There have been eight substantiated allegations of abuse or neglect at Holmwood House, Westbury-On-Trym, in the last two years.
INTERNATIONAL (United Kingdom), The Visitor, January 14, 2014
Nursing home abuse sparks calls for change in law
http://www.thevisitor.co.uk/news/local/nursing-home-abuse-sparks-calls-for-change-in-law-1-6372326
As the families of abuse victims at Hillcroft nursing home speak of their anger, Morecambe’s MP is fighting for a change in the law. David Morris today called an emergency meeting of the Care Bill Committee to try to secure legislation that would mean care home managers could be found culpable in abuse cases.
INTERNATIONAL (United Kingdom), Mail Online, January 14, 2014
Dementia sufferer, 83, died after care home ignored 30 complaints from family about urine-soaked bedding and poorly trained staff
The family of an 83-year-old dementia sufferer have criticized a care home after he died in squalid conditions. The family contacted managers to complain about the condition of the home, but they say nothing was done and the man died six months later on June 16.
INTERNATIONAL (United Kingdom), Mirror, January 12, 2014
See video of carer stealing from grandmother with dementia who she was supposed to be looking after
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/see-video-carer-stealing-grandmother-3012921
A carer was caught red handed stealing from a grandmother with dementia after her suspicious family installed hidden cameras in her house. Relatives watched in horror as CCTV footage showed Janet Maddocks in the kitchen, taking money from her 73-year-old charge's handbag.
INTERNATIONAL (Sheffield, United Kingdom), The Star, January 12, 2014
Cases of abuse and neglect on the rise in Sheffield
More vulnerable people are being abused and neglected across Sheffield, according to new figures. Incidents reported to Sheffield’s Safeguarding Adults Partnership increased by over a quarter last year – with more than half involving elderly people suspected of being badly treated.
ABUSE OF ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES
ARIZONA (Phoenix), AZ Central, January 13, 2014
Records: Gang member arrested in Phoenix stabbing
A member of the Westside Homies gang has been arrested in connection with the Dec. 13 stabbing of a vulnerable adult in Phoenix, according to court records released Monday. Andrew Christopher “Lil Sleepy” Sanchez, 24, was arrested on suspicion of threatening and intimidating, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, vulnerable adult abuse, and gang-related offenses.
CALIFORNIA (Santa Ana), CBS News, January 8, 2014
Two killed, five injured in Calif. Blaze at home for disabled
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/two-killed-five-injured-in-orange-county-residential-blaze/
Two people were killed and five others were injured, including a firefighter, in an early morning fire Wednesday at a group home for developmentally disabled women in California, authorities said. Two women, 48 and 52, were killed. One was found in her bed and another was discovered on the floor next to a bed, Orange County Fire Authority spokesman Steve Concialdi said.
FLORIDA (Orlando), WFTV, January 14, 2014
Family says disabled son sexually assaulted in group home
http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/family-says-disabled-son-was-sexually-assaulted-gr/ncnnb/
Channel 9 has discovered new allegations against a handful of group homes for disabled adults in four central Florida counties. A family that saw Kenneth Craig's report on Monday about the organization Central Florida Group Homes said they're suing the company because their adult son was assaulted under its care.
IOWA (Coralville), KCRG, January 13, 2014
Police say Coralville man abused dependent adult
http://www.kcrg.com/news/crime/Police-Say-Coralville-Man-Abused-Dependent-Adult-239911421.html
A Coralville man is accused of abusing a dependent adult in his car. According to the Iowa City Police Department, the victim, a dependent adult, met with police to report she was abused by a caretaker. Police said the woman allowed officers to collect DNA from the area of her body where the abuse occurred.
NEBRASKA (Beatrice), WOWT Omaha, January 11, 2014
Plea deal for ex-Beatrice state developmental center worker charged with abuse
http://www.wowt.com/home/headlines/Plea-Deal-For--239749511.html
A former Beatrice State Developmental Center worker charged with abusing developmentally disabled adults has reached a plea deal. Pangborn was convicted in July 2012 of four counts of abusing a vulnerable adult and several other charges. He was sentenced to 15 to 23 years in prison.
RELATED ISSUES
CALIFORNIA (Sacramento), The Sacramento Bee, January 14, 2014
Area ‘safe house’ for abused and neglected seniors to be closed
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/01/13/6069963/area-safe-house-for-abused-and.html
One of the only homes for abused and neglected seniors in the Sacramento area is about to shut down unless someone steps in to help. Without that money, the home, which works closely with Adult Protective Services, will close in four short weeks.
FLORIDA (St. Petersburg), Tampa Bay Times, January 10, 2014
Lottery winner’s lifetime of money gone in weeks
http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/lottery-winners-lifetime-of-money-gone-in-weeks/2160460
A 55-year-old who is diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia won "$500 a week for life" on a scratch-off Florida Lottery ticket, and without his legal guardian's awareness took it out as a lump-sum payout, spending more than half in less than four weeks. Judge Lauren Laughlin, who monitors this man's guardianship, wonders Why there nothing to keep the Florida Lottery from handing over thousands of dollars to someone that a court found incapable of caring for himself?
INTERNATIONAL (Japan), BBC NEWS, January 13, 2014
Japan: concern over dementia-related railway accidents
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-25710872
Tokyo's Mainichi Daily News reports that at least 149 accidents involving people suffering - or suspected of suffering - from dementia, have occurred in the eight years leading up to 2013. Many were the result of patients not recognizing the danger posed by railway tracks after wandering away from their carers.
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Upcoming Elder Abuse Conferences/Training Events (in chronological order):
· IOM Forum on Global Violence Prevention will host a public workshop on February 26-27, 2014. This workshop will explore a model for thinking about mental health, violence, and prevention with the goal of arriving at a better understanding of the relationships between mental illness and risks of violence perpetration and victimization as well as the mental health consequences of exposure to violence. The workshop will be held at the Keck Center in Washington, DC, and is free and open to the public. However, space is limited. More information found here: http://www.iom.edu/Activities/Global/ViolenceForum/2014-FEB-26.aspx?utm_medium=etmail&utm_source=Institute%20of%20Medicine&utm_campaign=12.18.13+Forum+and+Roundtable+News&utm_content=&utm_term=
· The 7th Annual Forensic Investigations on Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, and Child and Elder Abuse. This conference will be held in the Kansas City Convention Center in Kansas City, Missouri from May 14-16th, 2014. For more information click here: https://www.saintlukeshealthsystem.org/events?kw=forensic&location=All&adesc= or contact saintlukesconcierge@saint-lukes.org
· The 3rd World Congress on Adult Guardianship will be convened on May 28-30th , 2014 in the Washington DC Metropolitan Area. It is sponsored by the National Guardianship Network in affiliation with the International Guardianship Network. The theme of the conference is, “Promising Practices to Ensure Excellence in Guardianship Around the World.” Proposals for presentations are due July 31. See http://worldcongressguardianship.org
Funding Opportunities:
Deadline: Feb. 1. Retirement Research Foundation supports projects that improve the availability and quality of community-based and long-term support and services for older adults. Learn more at www.rrf.org
An archived collection of previous newsfeeds is available here: http://ncea.posthaven.com/
National Center on Elder Abuse
Center of Excellence on Elder Abuse & Neglect
University of California, Irvine
Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology
101 The City Drive South
Orange, CA 92868
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