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State Office Warns Elderly of Abuse
By Eric Leach, Los Angels Daily News
May 5, 2005
The California Attorney General's Office urged elderly residents Wednesday to beware of the growing number of financial fraud schemes targeting seniors -- and of even relatives and caregivers who may be after their money.
More than 225,000 Californians are victims of elder and dependent-adult abuse each year, and more than two-thirds of abusers are family members, officials said.
The state has received more than 6,700 calls on its abuse hotline since May 2003.
"Seniors are a very vulnerable population," said Peggy Osborn, program manager for elder abuse prevention in the Attorney General's Office, which sponsored a forum in Oxnard with the Ventura County District Attorney's Office and representatives of a number of other agencies.
"By raising awareness, we are helping to empower seniors not to become victims.
Hopefully, through forums like this, people will be more apt to come forward," she said. "People don't know who to call, so we're anxious to get the word out."
A number of speakers pointed to the case of Jane Edwards, an 85-year-old Moorpark woman whose body was found in February, covered in filth, two days after her death in her mobile home.
Edwards lived with her son, Robert Young, who has been charged with elder neglect resulting in death. He is scheduled for trial in June, and faces the possibility of 11 years in prison if convicted, officials said.
"One in every 20 of our elders is likely to be a victim of some sort of abuse," said Ventura County District Attorney Greg Totten. "This is the fastest-growing type of crime we have in the community. ... It's an underreported crime, much like child abuse was 20 years ago."
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