With friends like that, who needs enemies.
She’s lucky she has you to watch out for her, @JustaMom .
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with a $20K fraud you might want to give the District Attorney a call.
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While I’d like to, I have no authority to do so - I would need her to sign a power of attorney - which I’ve asked her to do, but for some reason that scares her. Someone she knows (not the same “friend”) already sold her Lexus SUV without her signing over the pink slip - we’re trying to unravel that too. It’s a flippin’ mess! I’m going to try again to get her to sign a POA so I can fight for her in earnest!
I’m grateful she’s not living in poverty, but these “friends” have got to go!
How do people who rip off our seniors sleep at night?
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Good question. I contacted the “friend” who yesterday asked her for “3 months of your bank statements for his records” and asked what he wanted them for. He stammered about wanting to ensure the “fraud charges were reversed” I let him know I handled it, and that I froze all her accounts. He went silent. He’s on my watch very carefully list!
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Ooooh, since he is helping, maybe you can ask him if he can help with the payday loans, since he is such a good friend and all. Tell him you are talking to the police and give him a bad day!
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Sounds like this “friend” should be at least a person of interest, if not a suspect, in the payday loans scam.
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You’re my kind of people! 
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Trust me, I’m keeping my eye on him!
Adding another vote to the “the ‘friend’ is probably the culprit” choir.
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Success!
I am thrilled to say I got a POA signed & notarized today.
But wait there’s more…I successfully engaged the police and after a long interview with me, and an even longer one with her, they went off to locate at least one of the scam artists, with the charges of “embezzlement and elder abuse” -
At the end of the day she said she felt a huge weight lift off her shoulders. Me too!
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Congratulations to you, @JustaMom !! That is two pieces – no, three, including her feeling better – of very good news.
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I have not received an extended car warranty call in months!
But lately I am getting calls about Roundup, the weed killer! Apparently, it causes cancer and they want me to contact them if I am a “victim”.
YES----if Roundup killed you, be sure to call them!
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And thanks @JustaMom for all the other seniors that my be saved from the same scam artist.
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A round of applause! I’m very happy to hear that the police did get involve. Quite often, such cases get ignored for a long time.
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Thank you, I think it was the $ amount that made them take action. She was all over the map when they interviewed her, but then something triggered and I could she became very coherent and aware of the enormity, and just started answering questions easily and freely and her responses were very similar or close to what I had reported. It really felt good.
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Are all the payday loans with the same lender? It is very common to flip these loans every month and never make a payment, till it gets to a high amount (although $20k is really excessive).
I’m sure the company, working with the police, will clear the amount and go after the person who really signed for them (video camera, ID, etc). I used to work for a high risk lender and we’d have dropped it in a second.
I’d also use the senior services in your state, either through your county government or the state (often a senior hotline). Have you pulled a credit report to see if there are other missuses of her SSN?
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The payday loans are to the same lender. Police said they probably won’t pursue getting ID, etc. - that shocked and saddened me.
All the charges have now been reversed (thank you Chase) but I’m really at a loss as to why Chase isn’t pursuing it either - we all end up “paying for” these misdeeds.
I pulled all 3 credit reports, no hanky-panky there - and immediately froze all her accounts.
I went through her apartment and took every bank statement or other paper with information someone could use to defraud her. I also went through her wallet and pulled every stale credit card and more. I left her with current ID & one credit card. I shredded it all when I got home. Sadly a couple of days later she called me in tears because she didn’t realize she could use the credit card at Trader Joe’s and missed going on the provided bus. She’d only ever used her debit card (now shredded). I’ve calmed her and assured her that the next time she can go on the bus.
Watching a once vibrant businesswoman degenerate before my eyes is truly heartbreaking - even watching my own mother with brain cancer for 5 moths wasn’t as overwhelming as this is. And my favorite person in the world, my grandmother, her death was over 3 weeks and hardly any deterioration.
She thanks me for being patient. If she only knew how little patience I really have for this. I’m doing my best to protect her.
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Kudos to you. You’re doing a wonderful job.
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