The elder abuse lawyers of Messa & Associates want to discuss what you should do if you recognize the signs and/or feel you have become a victim of financial abuse. It is not to late to defend yourself and rightfully punish the financial predator who is trying to harm you. The first step is recognizing that you are being taken advantage of and contacting the proper authorities. This may be difficult because often the accused is someone close to you such as a family member, good friend or caretaker. But you must be strong because what they have done is a crime. There are many agencies in place to help protect you from financial abuse.
Agencies To Contact
Police: If you feel you are in immediate danger call 911. To report the crime you should call your local police station on their non-emergency phone number
Adult Protective Services: Each state has an APS program that provide services working to ensure the safety of older adults and adults with disabilities who are being abused or neglected.
Long Term Care Ombudsmen: Ombudsmen are trained to resolve problems and provide information on how to find quality care. They are advocates for residents of nursing homes and assist with complaints about abuse or neglect.
New Jersey and Philadelphia Elder Abuse Lawyers
If you or your loved one has suffered financial abuse, negligence, and inadequacy, in addition to the agencies above you should also contact elder abuse lawyers. The team at Messa & Associates is dedicated to earning justice and compensation for those injured or worse by negligence and abuse in nursing homes and long term care facilities. Call, toll-free, 1-800-MessaLaw, or submit a free online inquiry. If you would like immediate assistance, click the CHAT LIVE icon to the right. A representative is present right now to answer your questions.
52-year-old Lynda S. Hutcheson is being accused of stealing almost $12,000 from her 100-year-old grandmother’s bank accounts in just a few months. She is being charged with 
Unfortunately, even though she was away from her abusers and getting the medical attention that she needed, Jacox died at the Tucson Medical Center on November 8, 2011. Authorities are now saying that the couple also cleared the woman’s bank accounts and credit cards. But Peralta is saying that the stories about what happened to Jacox are not true. He says that both Hughes and himself loved Jacox as if she was family and did not abuse or neglect her. He said he cannot speak for the 12 to 15 hours a day he spent at work and cannot comment on her diet, but he used to make her egg sandwiches in the morning until she told him that she preferred that Hughes care for her. He did notice the weight loss but assumed that it was a result of the multiple sclerosis. He says that he was the one that saw the sores on her back and made the decision to go to the hospital. “I seen the wound and I said ‘Get the wheelchair. We’re going to take her in (to the hospital) right now,” Peralta said. He then wheeled Jacox to the car and Hughes drove her to the hospital while he stayed home with Hughes’ kids. He also said that they never stole from Jacox, she would give him $40 or $60 for gas money occasionally but he says he always paid her back. He also claims that Hughes would give him Jacox’s ATM card and tell him to withdraw money, but that they were given permission and he always gave the card back. “It was nothing damaging like they’re trying to say…Ruthann was my best friend. I took care of her as much as I could,” Peralta said.
Denise D’Sant- Angelo, 56, was sentenced to 11 years in California state prison after stealing thousands of dollars from the elderly. On June 8, 2010 she was found guilty of 
Baker’s 63-year-old daughter, Sherry Lynn Mundy, has been convicted of severe neglect and sentenced to three years in prison. Judge Kathleen Beckstead suspended all but a year and a day of the Mundy’s sentence, which she will serve in state prison. According to prosecutor Joel Todd, “The fact that she imposed Division of Corrections time as opposed to local time should be a big deterrent to anyone else who might be thinking about a neglecting a vulnerable adult.” Mundy is also required to serve three years of supervised probation and is banned from being a caregiver for a vulnerable adult or anyone older than 65 years old.
On November 19, 2010, Nancy Byrd Lewis, 59, called 911 to report that her 79-year-old mother, Hazel Tolbert Byrd, was unresponsive. When the paramedics arrived at the house where the two women lived, they found Byrd lying in bed covered in several days worth of feces, urine, and maggots from her waist to her feet. The State Medical Examiner’s Office performed an autopsy and determined that Byrd had been dead for at least a week before the 911 call was made. The autopsy also said that she was filthy, had matted hair and several skin ulcers. This led to an investigation where officials found that in 2005 Byrd suffered a stroke and moved in with Lewis, who took the role of her mother’s caretaker. The elderly woman also suffered from high blood pressure and diabetes, but did not take any of her medications nor had she visited a doctor since being released from the hospital.
A very popular scam in recent years has been to call elderly adults pretending to be a grandchild, asking for money to be wired due to some emergency. This Grandparent Scam has cost people thousands of dollars all over the country. The scam has been around for several years, but it has gotten more elaborate lately. Originally, scammers would call and slowly get details from the victim through the conversation. Now-a-days, the caller will already know detailed information before they make the call. They will immediately identify themselves as a grandchild by name and give other details about their lives in order to increase credibility. Officials are warning everyone, especially the elderly, to never send money to family members or loved ones unless you can be certain you are sending it to the right person. It is easy for predators to access personal information so you must ask more than just basic information.
At the end of October the police went to the son of 74-year-old Carol Brown’s home to find her unresponsive and living in deplorable conditions. The paramedics rushed Brown to the hospital but she died several days later. According to the officers who entered the home, they described Brown as “a rotting corpse that was still breathing.” The rescue crews had to pry her from the leather recliner because her legs had become fused to the chair. Court documents also revealed that she was sitting in her own bodily fluids and waste with a swollen ankle wound with maggots inside. According to Brown’s daughter Laura Sanders, the doctors told her “There were sores on her back the size of a man’s fist.”
Carle has served as an advisor on a project by the GTX Corporation to develop location-tracking shoes with a GPS in the heel. They were developing the shoe for marathon runners and children when Carle “pointed out why this was an ideal technology for people with dementia who wander.” There has been GPS pocket devices, wristbands, and bracelets and pendants with names and contact numbers on the market but these were easily lost or removed. The wearer is much less likely to remove their shoes. The shoe’s technology will allow a family member to set a perimeter such as the house and yard that the wearer can move around freely, “But if he breaks the fence, Google maps pops up on my computer or my phone to show me where he is,” Carle explained. When it comes out on the market, the shoe is going to cost about $300 with a $30 to $40 monthly subscription fee.
Edna Lena Morales, 48, was arrested for the second time on Wednesday, November 9, 2011 for suspicion of