Authorities prosecuting more perpetrators of financial fraud and those convicted face increasingly stiff prison sentences, report Bruce Kelly and Sue Asci in their July 26 article in InvestmentNews entitled “Criminal convictions, jail time on rise for financial fraudsters.” Alabama has obtained felony convictions in 25 cases involving financial fraud with 20 more cases pending, according to Joseph Borg, Director of the Alabama Securities Commission and former President of the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA). “Convictions are up, and sentences are also lengthier,” says Denise Voigt Crawford, Texas Securities Commissioner. Texas convicted 13 people of financial crimes in 2008, has convicted 10 so far this year, and expects that number to at least double by year end, added Ms. Crawford.
Investors who have lost money in the financial crisis, especially elderly investors, are particularly vulnerable to scams that promise guaranteed returns., regulators say. “Judges are looking at it as if it were a violent crime, said Fred Joseph, Securities Commissioner of Colorado. Many such victims have suffered irreparable harm.
The typical case does not involve a registered representative of a brokerage firm, but rather a con artist who has no legitimate business ties. Some of them are very cunning at developing the trust and confidence of their victims, and they may already be someone known and trusted by their victims. A “confidence” man could be a fellow church or club member, a neighbor, or even a relative. Indeed, one Atlanta man who swindled millions from strangers in a Ponzi scheme first targeted his own elderly parents, wrote Rhonda Cook in her July 28 article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution entitled “Ponzi suspect allegedly first targeted parents.” ‘They were shocked, devastated,” said the man’s twin brother. “I remember when I looked at my father ‘ He was in a daze, depressed. [Looked] like he had just seen a ghost.”
The treacherous son is sitting in jail under a $980,000 bond. DeKalb County police say he also conned the pastor and fellow members of his church. The victims did not know their money was gone until it was too late.
Georgia and some other states have statutes that make it a felony to swindle the elderly. Georgia’s Disabled Adults and Elder Persons Protection Act (O.C.G.A. §§ 30-5-1 et seq.) makes it a felony to “exploit” any “elder person.” See O.C.G.A. § 30-5-8 (2003 amendment). The 2003 amendment changed the crime from a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature to a felony, which, upon conviction, shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than five years. Under the Act, “‘exploitation’ means the illegal or improper use of a disabled adult or elder person or that person’s resources for another’s profit or advantage…” and ‘elder person’ means a person 65 years of age or older who is not a resident of a long-term care facility….” O.C.G.A. § 30-5-3 (7.1), (9).
Page Perry is an Atlanta-based law firm with over 125 years collective experience representing victims of fraud. While past results are not indicative of future success, Page Perry’s attorneys have recovered over $1,000,000 for clients on more than 30 occasions. Page Perry’s attorneys are actively involved in representing victims of elder fraud. For further information, please contact us.