Silent victims Silent victims (January 07, 2004)

Palo Alto neighborhoods lead county in elder abuse cases

by Bill D'Agostino

When Palo Alto officers pulled over a van carrying Gwendolyne Durham last year, police uncovered a crime more complicated than speeding.

After Durham, 52, admitted using cocaine and marijuana, officers searched and found a checkbook belonging to her 83-year-old mother. A $350 check was already written to Durham.

Durham, an East Palo Alto resident, was immediately suspected of elder abuse.

In Silicon Valley, and especially Palo Alto, elder abuse is increasingly prevalent. The growing number of "cash poor" but "land rich" seniors make easy targets for the manipulative and the desperate.

Downtown and south Palo Alto have the highest rates of elder abuse in Santa Clara County, according to a recent county report.

In those zip codes in 2001, there were between 201 and 300 confirmed cases per 100,000 people, the report noted. (Parts of Los Altos, San Jose and Santa Clara had similar rates.)

That's just the tip of the iceberg, though, since most cases go unreported, noted Palo Alto Detective Lori Kratzer. Police and prosecutors estimate that only 14 percent of victims file complaints.

"Many times, seniors are reluctant to report it because any kind of caregiver or provider is better than being left at home, alone," Kratzer said. Other criminals are so skilled at conning, seniors don't even know they've been had.

The crisis is expected to get worse as the population ages, and baby boomers slide into old age. Santa Clara County projects that in the next 20 years, there will be a 90 percent increase in the number of residents 65 years and older.

There are many varieties of elder abuse -- including physical, sexual and neglect -- but the highest percentage of cases are financial.

Those cases can be as simple as housekeepers stealing from their elder clients. But more often, the crime's path weaves a complex tale of deception and heartbreak, as strangers get into the elders' good graces before coercing themselves into their pocketbooks, wills or trusts -- or all of the above.

The most common profile, though, children who moves back in with their parents to take care of them, but end up committing fraud.

"They think they can justify it, 'This is my inheritance. I just wanted it early,'" Kratzer recalled.

When police interviewed Gwendolyne Durham's mother, she showed signs of confusion. The senior didn't know the date or day of the week, and could not remember the names of her grandchildren. However, she adamantly denied giving permission to her daughter to write checks.

Durham's sister later told police her mother hid her checkbook in a brassiere from the suspect, who had a drug addiction.

Durham was eventually sentenced to 10 months in county jail.

The impact on elder abuse victims can be devastating. In fact, many recent local victims have died -- including one woman who committed suicide soon after the crime -- or are placed into guardianship.

Studies have shown that victims of elder abuse often live shorter lives and require more care.

"They just can't believe that this has happened at this stage of life," said Deputy District Attorney Cindy Hendrickson.

"It makes you kind of leery and think, 'I'm not as smart as I thought it was,'" said one 82-year-old female victim who lives in Milpitas.

The woman, a widow who wished to remain nameless, sold a man her husband's Cadillac. Although he never paid her, claiming financial hardship, he stuck around, gaining her trust. Even after selling the Cadillac and keeping the proceeds, he asked for money.

"I'm glad my husband wasn't around," she said. "He would have a had a fit."

"The real harm that's inflicted is often not the money," Hendrickson's partner, Tiyen Lin, said. "It's something else.

"It's hope. ... It's the human spirit."

Sometimes, the loss of money alone is severe enough to cause significant damage. One Palo Alto woman lost $590,000 "in one fell swoop" to something know as the "Canadian Lottery."

A triumphant phone call or piece of mail starts the scam, announcing, "You've won!" The guaranteed prize can be as high as $40 million.

The catch, and the con, is that criminals demand payment of "taxes" upfront, stringing victims along until they get suspicious. Then the criminals disappear, leaving no trace.

"It's very dangerous even to the most highly educated and most competent," Hendrickson said.

Victims shouldn't expect to see retribution; the crooks are mobile, and hard to catch. Krazter doesn't know of any local cases that have been successfully prosecuted.

Even if the criminal could be caught, it would be difficult to prove the case to a jury. Often it's hard to convince the victims they have been taken, even after all evidence has been collected and shown to them, law enforcement personnel said.

In a few instances, assets have to be frozen to protect seniors from giving away all their money.

"I have not yet met a person who's been victimized who truly accepted they have been victimized," Hendrickson said. "It would be too painful for them to acknowledge the truth."

"Some of these people are ending up with nothing. This money is their life savings," Kratzer said "And it's usually the money that's going to support them as they get older."

Bill D'Agostino can be e-mailed at bdagostino@paweekly.com

E-mail a friend a link to this story.