Specialized unit aims to protect vulnerable Baltimore residents from scammers
BALTIMORE -- The Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office says it is holding people accountable for scamming and stealing from vulnerable adults. The office announced several cases on Wednesday at its Older Adult Luncheon and Resource event.
The State's Attorney's Office launched a specialized division to investigate financial crimes that often target the most vulnerable residents. It fulfills a campaign promise by investigating, indicting and prosecuting these cases.
"It is heinous for a person to get to their golden years, and someone makes them feel unsafe," said Shari Greene, chief of the Economic Crimes Older and Disabled Persons Unit.
Older and Disabled Persons Unit
The Older and Disabled Persons Unit was launched last September to protect vulnerable residents from scams in Baltimore. State's Attorney Ivan Bates says these crimes can be detrimental to victims and their families.
"They create financial ruin and significant harm to our housing market and local economy," Bates said. "These crimes are especially heinous because they prey on one of the most vulnerable populations in the city."
The unit was created within the Economic Crimes team to stop scammers from preying on vulnerable victims. Before the Older Adult Luncheon and Resource event, the state's attorney cited several economic crime cases, some against vulnerable adults. Often these crimes are committed by people known to the victims.
"We usually hear about it when the dollar amounts have gone up very high when the bank account is very low," Greene said. "Often, we are alerted by the banks. We go in and we talk to them and we consider our victims' concerns. They may not want their loved one incarcerated, but they want the theft and the fraud to stop."
Case examples
One case accuses a former contractor of taking tens of thousands of dollars from 15 victims and not completing home improvement projects.
Another case accuses a granddaughter of stealing $48,000 from her grandmother who was in her 90s. That case began with a tip from another family member at the first older adult luncheon last year.
"Once we followed all the money and reviewed all the transactions, the main thing is, even if the person has power of attorney or they've been added as a joint account holder on a bank account, the problem is, they think it's their own money and they begin to use it as their own," Greene said. "That's when the criminal part comes in."
Tips to prevent scams
The resource event is designed to give older adults some tips on how to prevent these types of crimes from happening to them.
Experts recommend getting an annual credit report to review major transactions and loans, analyzing a company's records before hiring them to do work and communicating regularly with your bank about your account.
"Check in to make sure there is nothing out there, there's not extra debit cards out there," Greene said. "There hasn't been any change of addresses that they don't know about. And think long and hard before making anyone a member of the joint account."
If you feel like you're a victim or that your loved one has been victimized, you can reach out to the department via the hotline number 844-726-6378 or email odpuhelp@stattorney.org.
So far, 25% to 30% of the hotline calls have been from people who are 70 years or older, according to the State's Attorney's Office.
