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93–251 PDF 2004

S. HRG. 108–445

ELDER ABUSE, NEGLECT, AND EXPLOITATION:

ARE WE DOING ENOUGH?

HEARING

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON CRIME, CORRECTIONS AND 

VICTIMS’ RIGHTS

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY 

UNITED STATES SENATE

ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

SEPTEMBER 24, 2003

Serial No. J–108–43

Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary

(

(II)

COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY 

ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah, Chairman 

CHARLES E. GRASSLEY, Iowa 

ARLEN SPECTER, Pennsylvania 

JON KYL, Arizona 

MIKE DEWINE, Ohio 

JEFF SESSIONS, Alabama 

LINDSEY O. GRAHAM, South Carolina 

LARRY E. CRAIG, Idaho 

SAXBY CHAMBLISS, Georgia 

JOHN CORNYN, Texas 

PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont 

EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Massachusetts 

JOSEPH R. BIDEN, JR., Delaware 

HERBERT KOHL, Wisconsin 

DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California 

RUSSELL D. FEINGOLD, Wisconsin 

CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York 

RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois 

JOHN EDWARDS, North Carolina 

BRUCE ARTIM, Chief Counsel and Staff Director 

BRUCE A. COHEN, Democratic Chief Counsel and Staff Director 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON CRIME, CORRECTIONS AND VICTIMS’ RIGHTS

LINDSEY O. GRAHAM, South Carolina, Chairman 

ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah 

CHARLES E. GRASSLEY, Iowa 

JEFF SESSIONS, Alabama 

LARRY E. CRAIG, Idaho 

JOHN CORNYN, Texas 

JOSEPH R. BIDEN, JR., Delaware 

HERBERT KOHL, Wisconsin 

DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California 

RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois 

JOHN EDWARDS, North Carolina 

JAMES GALYEAN, Majority Chief Counsel 

NEIL MACBRIDE, Democratic Chief Counsel 

(III)

C O N T E N T S

STATEMENTS OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Page

Biden, Hon. Joseph R., a U.S. Senator from the State of Delaware, prepared 

statement .............................................................................................................. 28

Craig, Hon. Larry E., a U.S. Senator from the State of Idaho, prepared 

statement .............................................................................................................. 43

Graham, Hon. Lindsey O., a U.S. Senator from the State of South Carolina .... 1

prepared statement .......................................................................................... 45

Grassley, Hon. Charles E., a U.S. Senator from the State of Iowa, prepared 

statement .............................................................................................................. 47

Hatch, Hon. Orrin G., a U.S. Senator from the State of Utah, prepared 

statement .............................................................................................................. 51

Leahy, Hon. Patrick J., a U.S. Senator from the State of Vermont, prepared 

statement .............................................................................................................. 64

WITNESSES 

Chiles, Christopher D., Prosecuting Attorney, Cabell County, West Virginia, 

and Vice President, National District Attorneys Association, Alexandria, 

Virginia ................................................................................................................. 10

Holbrook, Douglas C., Member, Board of Directors, American Association 

of Retired Persons, Washington, D.C. ................................................................ 14

Huse James G., Inspector General, Social Security Administration, Washington, D.C. ........................................................................................................... 5

Mihalko, Daniel L., Inspector in Charge, Congressional and Public Affairs, 

Postal Inspection Service, Washington, D.C. ..................................................... 2

Stiegel, Lori A., Associate Staff Director, Commission on Law and Aging, 

American Bar Association, Washington, D.C. ................................................... 16

Wright, James A., National Sheriffs’ Association, Alexandria, Virginia ............. 12

QUESTION AND ANSWER 

Response of Mr. Huse to a question submitted by Senator Craig ....................... 23

SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD 

Breaux, Hon. John, a U.S. Senator from the State of Louisiana, prepared 

statement .............................................................................................................. 30

Chiles, Christopher D., Prosecuting Attorney, Cabell County, West Virginia, 

and Vice President, National District Attorneys Association, Alexandria, 

Virginia, prepared statement .............................................................................. 34

Holbrook, Douglas C., Member, Board of Directors, American Association 

of Retired Persons, Washington, D.C., prepared statement ............................. 53

Huse James G., Inspector General, Social Security Administration, Washington, D.C., prepared statement ....................................................................... 61

Mihalko, Daniel L., Inspector in Charge, Congressional and Public Affairs, 

Postal Inspection Service, Washington, D.C., prepared statement .................. 66

Stiegel, Lori A., Associate Staff Director, Commission on Law and Aging, 

American Bar Association, Washington, D.C., prepared statement ................ 78

Wright, James A., National Sheriffs’ Association, Alexandria, Virginia ............. 89

(1)

ELDER ABUSE, NEGLECT, AND 

EXPLOITATION: ARE WE DOING ENOUGH? 

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2003 

UNITED STATES SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON CRIME, CORRECTIONS AND VICTIMS

RIGHTS, COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, Washington, DC. 

The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:32 p.m., in room 

SD–226, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Lindsey Graham, 

Chairman of the Subcommittee, presiding. 

Present: Senator Graham. 

Chairman GRAHAM. Thank you all for coming. This is a very important subject very near and dear to my heart, and I think most 

Americans. We have distinguished panels today and I look forward 

very much to hearing from you, but we have some housecleaning 

to take care of. 

Is it Mr. Mihalko? 

Mr. MIHALKO. Mihalko, right. 

Chairman GRAHAM. And Mr. Huse, is that right? 

Mr. HUSE. Yes. 

Chairman GRAHAM. Would you please stand? I am going to have 

to swear you in. Raise your right hands, please. 

Do you solemnly swear the testimony you are about to give is the 

truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God? 

Mr. MIHALKO. I do. 

Mr. HUSE. Yes, I do. 

Chairman GRAHAM. Take a seat. Again, I do appreciate both of 

you coming and look forward to hearing your testimony and having 

a little interaction with you. 

I have got a statement here from Senator Biden that I would like 

to make part of the record, and Senator Breaux and Senator Hatch. 

Senators Breaux and Hatch have been working on protection for 

our senior citizens for a long time. I want to recognize Senator 

Biden’s interest and support. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. LINDSEY GRAHAM, A U.S. 

SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA 

Chairman GRAHAM. A little bit about why I wanted to hold the 

hearing. In a previous life, before politics—it seems to me the more 

I am in it, the more I miss it, but in a previous life I was a lawyer 

and I had a chance to work several groups that were representing 

abused children in our family court system in South Carolina. 

Through that association, I found myself getting more and more inVerDate 0ct 09 2002 10:21 May 12, 2004 Jkt 093251 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 S:\GPO\HEARINGS\93251.TXT SJUD4 PsN: CMORC
2

volved in cases where our senior citizens were being abused financially, physically, and otherwise. 

I don’t think most Americans realize how much of a network exists out there in the private sector trying to prey off the fears and 

concerns of senior citizens. We have criminal laws at the State and 

Federal levels to deal with that, but I don’t think there has been 

enough attention and enough effort in combatting this growing 

problem. 

The reason for this hearing today is to get input from people on 

the panels and others to make sure we are on the right track, and 

if we can do more, we should do more. That is the purpose of the 

hearing, and I think there will be a lot of bipartisan support for 

any recommendations you have to make our world better for seniors. And for those who try to make a living exploiting seniors, 

there is not enough bad things we can do to them, in my opinion. 

So that is why we are all here today. 

With that little speech over, I would like to have Mr. Mihalko 

start off and make a statement to the Subcommittee, if you would 

like. 

STATEMENT OF DANIEL L. MIHALKO, INSPECTOR IN CHARGE, 

CONGRESSIONAL AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS, U.S. POSTAL INSPECTION SERVICE, WASHINGTON, D.C. 

Mr. MIHALKO. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I appreciate you 

holding this hearing on this very important issue of crimes against 

the elderly and giving us the opportunity to talk about the role of 

the United States Postal Inspection Service in combatting these 

crimes. 

There are countless illegal schemes that violate the Nation’s first 

consumer protection law, the mail fraud statute. Back in 1872, it 

was enacted and it is still the most effective fraud enforcement 

weapon, and postal inspectors have been using it for over 100 

years. Last year, we responded to over 84,000 mail fraud complaints and we handed over 3,000 fraud cases, arresting 1,600 mail 

fraud operators. As a result of these investigations, there was over 

$2 billion in court-ordered and voluntary restitution, and this is 

only a portion of the financial impact on the victims, many of them 

senior citizens. 

Over the years, postal inspectors have used the mail fraud statute to investigate and prosecute all types of scams. With the advent of the telephone, of course, came telemarketing scams, and the 

Internet brought its own offerings. With these new communications 

vehicles, we have seen new twists on some old scams, but to us it 

is basically old wine in new bottles. Eventually, as part of the 

scheme, the mail is used, and when the mail is used, postal inspectors get involved. 

The elderly often become victims of mail fraud schemes because 

older citizens, the physically-challenged, the shut-ins, rely on the 

mail to receive many of their purchases and they become easy prey 

for mail fraud operators. The problem is compounded when operators sell names and addresses of their victims to other criminal elements, resulting in the repeated victimization of many elderly. 

The same holds true for telemarketers. Many offers are legitimate, but unscrupulous telemarketers can be the smoothest of opVerDate 0ct 09 2002 10:21 May 12, 2004 Jkt 093251 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 S:\GPO\HEARINGS\93251.TXT SJUD4 PsN: CMORC
3

erators, successfully defrauding people out of their life savings. 

Losses attributed to telemarketing fraud are estimated to exceed 

$40 billion a year. 

Senior citizens are particularly vulnerable. Fraudsters recognize 

that many seniors are widowed and feel isolated. A telephone call 

from anyone is greeted with open arms. Experienced con artists 

know the buttons to push when they have a senior on the telephone. 

Because seniors are so vulnerable to these scams, postal inspectors have placed a high priority on investigating these fraud cases 

where seniors are victims. We have put together a video for the 

Subcommittee, and in this video victims and caretakers tell how 

this victimization happened to them. The last segment of this very 

short video shows the effectiveness of one of our crime prevention 

campaigns, where we were able to stop a senior from being victimized by sending $2,200 in a cross-border fraud initiative. 

Mr. Chairman, I would like to play that video for you. 

Chairman GRAHAM. Please. 

[Videotape shown.] 

Mr. MIHALKO. Mr. Chairman, we see these types of investigations, these types of cases, and these victim stories everyday. In the 

video, you saw some of the items that telemarketers sent to victims 

through the mail. In searches of telemarketers’ places of business, 

we have discovered that the files they maintain on their victims 

contain intimate details of the victims’ health, names of their children, vacation and travel memories, and even information on deceased spouses. 

Telemarketers, in particular, use this personal information when 

they call the victims. They will mention family names, inquire 

about someone’s health, and they will very effectively portray 

themselves as being caring and knowledgeable. For the victims, 

these telephone calls may be their only regular contact with other 

people. Victims often even defend the fraud operators in the continued belief that they are friends who are trying to help them win 

a sweepstakes or manage investments. Some victims will even 

knowledge that the fraud operator is taking advantage of them, but 

explain that no one else has showed any interest in them. 

One particular technique used by mail fraud operators is to target those who are ill or in the early stages of dementia. We call 

it ‘‘the check is in the mail’’ type of a scheme. A telemarketer will 

call a senior posing as a representative of a local business or hospital and asked if they have paid their bill. Since a senior’s memory 

may be poor, the victim often thinks they have forgotten about this 

bill and will promptly write a check and put it in the mail. Telemarketers know that seniors have large savings and retirement 

funds that they can draw on. 

Another scheme is the ‘‘you have won’’ scheme. It targets elderly 

victims who have previously participated in lotteries, sweepstakes, 

and other prize-winning opportunities. Fraudsters inform these 

seniors that they have won. However, some type of fee must be 

paid before the prize or check can be mailed. The victim receives 

nothing. The only one who wins is the scam artist. 

One of the most notorious scams against seniors is what is 

known as the reload. When fraud operators are successful in obVerDate 0ct 09 2002 10:21 May 12, 2004 Jkt 093251 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 S:\GPO\HEARINGS\93251.TXT SJUD4 PsN: CMORC
4

taining money from a victim, they often make an attempt to gain 

even more money. This is the reload. In a typical reload, the fraud 

operator contacts the victim again and alters the original scam or 

even presents a new scam. 

Sweepstakes winners may be told that their prize has been increased, but that additional fees are necessary to claim the new 

prize. Victims in fraudulent investment schemes may be convinced 

to invest more money or to convert their investment to another 

market product, like you saw in the video where the lady went 

from silver to gold. Usually, what they are getting is worth less 

than what they ordered in the first place. 

Fraudulent telemarketers network with each other; they sell lists 

of targets to each other. If a telemarketer knows a particular senior 

has fallen victim to a scam, they will call the senior, posing as either an attorney or a law enforcement official, and advise that they 

have arrested the con artist and seized their money. The money is 

either in a State fund or being held by the courts, according to this 

person. Scam artists will then request another fee to release the 

funds to the victim, and in doing so steal from the victim once 

again. 

The impact on seniors can be devastating on two fronts. Many 

pay an emotional cost, losing not only their money, but also their 

self-respect and dignity. We have interviewed victims who claimed 

they couldn’t remember sending anything to the operators or, out 

of embarrassment, minimize the level of victimization they experienced. 

Criminal prosecution is an important element in our fraud program, but it is not the only tool. We work hard to protect consumers by educating them about current fraud schemes so they 

don’t become victims. I would like to finish up by telling you about 

a couple of different prevention programs that we have done. 

In 1999, we sent this postcard to every household in the country, 

over 123 million addresses, under Project know Fraud. The card 

contained telemarketing fraud prevention tips, a Web address, and 

a toll-free number to call for additional information or to report a 

fraud. It was the largest fraud prevention campaign ever attempted. 

National Fraud Against Senior Citizens Awareness Week was 

kicked off last August by postal inspectors. ‘‘Don’t let one phone 

call take it away’’ fraud awareness posters, as you see over here 

on the easel, were posted at all 38,000 post offices around the country. We took out ads in major metropolitan newspapers. PSAs featuring Betty White were broadcast on television and radio, and 

fraud awareness flyers were mailed to roughly 3 million households 

of seniors and their families. The campaign brought immediate success, as you saw in the last clip on the video. 

I think what is particularly important is the message; it was 

very compelling and on-target to our seniors. I am not sure if you 

can read it on the poster, but it says ‘‘He lived through two world 

wars and fought in one. He helped raise six children and three 

dogs. He saved a long time for his retirement. Don’t let one phone 

call take it away.’’ 

Just last week, postal inspectors unveiled a national consumer 

awareness campaign on identity theft, known as Operation Identity 

5

Crisis. The campaign focuses on the ease with which identity theft 

occurs unless consumers take steps to prevent it. The campaign 

features posters, again, in all post office lobbies, newspaper ads, a 

mailing, and a PSA with Jerry Orbach, the actor from ‘‘Law and 

Order,’’ who is also a victim of identity theft. 

You have all heard the saying ‘‘crime doesn’t pay,’’ but in this 

case it does. All of these campaigns have been paid for by a unique 

funding arrangement where we use monies received from criminal 

fines and forfeitures in cases where victims could not be identified. 

It will be paying for Postal Inspection Service PSAs, crime prevention videos, and brochures like these that we put out on a regular 

basis. 

Our mission is clear, to protect Postal Service employees and customers from criminal attack, and to protect the Nation’s mail system from criminal misuse. We take this mission seriously. We will 

continue to protect seniors from scam artists and ensure that the 

American public continues to have confidence in the U.S. mail. 

Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Mihalko appears as a submission 

for the record.] 

Chairman GRAHAM. Well done. Thank you very much. 

Mr. Huse. 

STATEMENT OF JAMES G. HUSE, JR., INSPECTOR GENERAL, 

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION, WASHINGTON, D.C. 

Mr. HUSE. Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for the opportunity to discuss with you today some of the scams perpetrated 

against the Nation’s seniors and some of the actions my office has 

undertaken to detect them or prevent them from occurring in the 

first place. 

For over 60 years, the words ‘‘Social Security’’ have held special 

meaning for elderly Americans. So when mail arrives at their doorstep with the official Social Security seal or references to Social Security, many seniors respond reflexively. 

Today, I will describe some of the investigations we have conducted into organizations and individuals that misuse the Social 

Security Administration’s name and exploit the special bond between SSA and its beneficiaries. These cases represent one of our 

highest investigative priorities, and I would like to describe just 

three significant cases that have received our attention this past 

year. These cases are brought under authority of Section 1140 of 

the Social Security Act, which provides the Commissioner of Social 

Security with authority to impose significant civil monetary penalties. The commissioner delegated that authority to the inspector 

general in 1995. 

The first case concerns an individual in Texas who was producing mass mailers containing what are referred to as lead cards 

for the insurance industry. These cards, enclosed in mailers that 

advertise such products as private burial insurance, urge seniors to 

fill out the card with their personal information and return the 

card to the sender. We all receive junk mail and don’t hesitate to 

throw it out in the trash, but when the recipient is a senior and 

when the outside of the mailer contains the words ‘‘Social Security 

Benefits Update,’’ as these did, most seniors will open the mailer. 

6

These mailers are designed to elicit a belief that the recipient by 

filling out the card with sensitive personal data will receive important information about Social Security benefits. Instead, their information is sold as an insurance lead to a private company for 

purposes of soliciting the sale of private insurance. Other untoward 

things can happen to that information, too. 

Working with the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, our attorneys issued a civil monetary penalty and 

obtained an injunction against this individual. A search of his business premises revealed that he was sending out tens of thousands 

of these mailers each week. The court order we obtained froze his 

financial accounts, allowed for the interception and opening of his 

mail, and essentially shut down his business. Shortly thereafter, a 

settlement was reached in which a penalty was paid to the Social 

Security trust funds and the individual’s business was closed permanently. 

The second case occurred in San Antonio, where another individual was running a company that sent similar lead cards to seniors. The San Antonio mailers depicted the company’s logo, a stylized image of the United States Capitol, and were otherwise designed to resemble official Government documents. On the back of 

many of the mailers were listed the titles of a number of official 

Social Security informational brochures that the company offered 

free of charge. 

While the company alleged that this was a public service, it was, 

in fact, a rouse intended to mislead seniors into thinking that they 

were giving their personal information to Social Security, not to a 

private lead card company. A civil monetary penalty was imposed 

and has since been upheld by the departmental appeals board of 

Health and Human Services, and also by the Commissioner of Social Security. Most recently, our imposition of a penalty in excess of $500,000 

against a national political organization was upheld by an administrative law judge. The organization’s political mailers were contained in envelopes bordered in red and white stripes with the 

words ‘‘Social Security Alert’’ repeated 36 times and the words ‘‘Urgent-Social Security Information Enclosed’’ in permanent bold typeface. 

The organization took the position that they did not intend to 

mislead seniors into believing that the mailers originated with the 

SSA, and further alleged that the mailers would not have a misleading effect. The administrative law judge disagreed, upholding 

the imposition of the $500,000 penalty. 

Our efforts in this area extend back to 1995, and the reduction 

in complaints from seniors is a testament to our success in this 

area. In our criminal investigative work, we consistently find examples of senior citizens being victimized by unscrupulous identity 

fraudsters and the like. We will continue to do everything in our 

power to protect seniors from being victims of these types of scams 

and those who would misuse their identity and Social Security benefits. 

Thank you, sir, and I would be willing to answer any questions. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Huse appears as a submission 

for the record.] 

7

Chairman GRAHAM. Thank you both. 

Inspector Mihalko, you talked about the budget in terms of informing people about what to watch for. What is the budget? I 

mean, how much money do you spend each year doing the ads and 

the mailers? 

Mr. MIHALKO. One of the unique things about this consumer 

fraud fund is by way of a fraud case that we worked out in the 

Midwest last year, the judge earmarked $15 million to come to the 

Postal Inspection Service just to work and use on fraud prevention 

campaigns. So right now, we are starting off with $15 million just 

in this fund. These campaigns are being paid for out of this fund. 

We are working on some consumer protection-type videos. We have 

hired a production company to do these types of things. So we have $15 million. That doesn’t include what we may get 

out of cases that we are working right now, some different fines in 

different mail fraud cases, and the forfeitures where we can’t really 

get the money back and make restitution to individual victims for 

whatever reason it may be. So we do have quite a bit of money in 

this fund to go out and do these prevention campaigns, and we feel 

these prevention campaigns are very critical for this type of crime. 

Chairman GRAHAM. I totally agree with you. Do you think you 

have enough money in place and enough money coming to do the 

job in the near future? 

Mr. MIHALKO. I think we do, for the near future, yes. With this 

consumer fraud fund funding these programs, we have a lot of good 

ideas that we want to get forward. We have a lot of partners in 

some of these programs that we are putting forth. 

Again, I think this type of crime really lends itself to consumer 

protection and crime prevention. Fraud is unlike crimes of violence. 

If somebody comes up to you and points a gun at you and says, I 

want your money, you don’t have much choice in that matter; you 

are going to give them your money. You can’t say to them, let me 

think about this, let me get back to you tomorrow, let me check you 

out, whereas with fraud you can do that. 

If the solicitation comes in through the mail, you have an opportunity to read it in the comfort of your home. You can look at it, 

you can make decisions. You can contact us, the Better Business 

Bureau, any other agencies to check out the company. The same 

way with the phone call that comes through from a telemarketer; 

you have a choice, you decide whether or not you want to become 

a victim or be a part of this crime. 

You can hang up the phone. You can tell the telemarketer, let 

me call you back, let me check you out, let me check your business 

records out with the Better Business Bureau, let me check with the 

postal inspectors, the FTC. You can ask a lot of questions before 

you get involved in these types of crimes. So we feel that the use 

of monies to come up with these prevention programs is very effective. 

Chairman GRAHAM. I totally agree. 

If someone mails the material from overseas, what happens? 

Mr. MIHALKO. Well, that gets to be a little trickier. The mail 

fraud statute is very effective for domestic crimes. It doesn’t give 

us the reach to go overseas. 

Chairman GRAHAM. Is that a problem? 

8

Mr. MIHALKO. It is somewhat of a problem. We are in such a 

global economy now and these fraudsters really don’t have any 

boundaries. You have the telemarketers who, all they need is a 

telephone and they can be anywhere calling our seniors in this 

country and victimizing them. The same way with the Internet. So 

it does present somewhat of a problem because we are not able to 

really go after these folks. We rely on law enforcement agencies in 

the foreign countries to help us out. But what is even worse is we 

are not able to use any of the forfeiture laws in this country to try 

to get those assets that they steal from our people. 

Chairman GRAHAM. Is there any way you can think of to change 

that? Are there any ideas that you have? 

Mr. MIHALKO. One of the things that is of great interest to the 

foreign governments is money laundering. Some of the countries 

don’t have mail fraud statutes, per se, but money laundering is 

kind of a hot button with them and if we can tie in some of these 

parts of a mail fraud scam—for example, if a senior in this country—like you saw in the video, the lady was going to mail a $2,200 

check to a Canadian telemarketer. If we can use that particular 

mailing to make that part of the money laundering charge, I think 

we would very much get the attention of the foreign governments 

to assist us in trying to take the assets away from these folks that 

are scamming our people. 

Chairman GRAHAM. Is there any particular country where the 

problem is worse compared to other countries? 

Mr. MIHALKO. I don’t know if there is one particular country, although we do see a lot of telemarketers coming from Canada and 

we are working very closely with the Canadian authorities. We 

have established through the Department of Justice a cross-border 

fraud initiative, or with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and 

we have been effective there. 

But once again, if the money goes from our citizens to Canada 

and then it gets shipped overseas to a European account, laundered 

through the Caymans, and then even back into the United States, 

we don’t have the reach to go after those assets. 

Chairman GRAHAM. Well, is there any particular wish list that 

you would like to give me today about what we could do to better 

enhance your success rate? 

Mr. MIHALKO. I think that might be something we would be willing to work with the staff on and try to figure out how we— 

Chairman GRAHAM. You put it together and we will try to punch 

as many holes in it as we can. So my offer stands, and I appreciate 

what the Postal Service is doing. It must be very satisfying work, 

I would think, to get your hands on some of these people. 

Mr. MIHALKO. Yes, it is. Thank you. 

Chairman GRAHAM. Mr. Huse, you talked about three cases that 

really struck me as a bad thing to do to someone, because people 

live in fear of that Social Security check being manipulated or 

changed and that is their livelihood. Every case was resolved in 

some civil matter. Why not criminal action? 

Mr. HUSE. In each of those instances, Mr. Chairman, we look at 

the criminal potential in those cases, too, but a lot of times these 

don’t violate criminal statutes. We work closely with the United 

9

States Attorneys’ offices in each of those jurisdictions to get to 

where we would impose our civil money penalty. 

Chairman GRAHAM. So it is not a crime to try to manufacture 

what would appear to be a Government document to mislead somebody? 

Mr. HUSE. Well, it is something in similitude to a Government 

document. And the answer is, no, it is not a crime, but it is something that we can sanction from an administrative perspective. 

Chairman GRAHAM. Is there any effort to make it a crime? 

Mr. HUSE. That, I think, has been something that has been in 

potential for some time, but the problem you push up against, of 

course, is the First Amendment issues that are always an aspect 

of us trying to find criminal remedies against some of these practices. And these are only a sample of what we deal with everyday. 

Chairman GRAHAM. Well, I would be very interested in working 

with your staff to see if we can take it to the next level. 

Mr. HUSE. We would be delighted to work with you on that. 

Chairman GRAHAM. The more pain, the less people are likely to 

do this. 

Inspector, is the punishment scheme satisfactory from your point 

of view to deter this once you catch somebody? 

Mr. MIHALKO. Yes, the mail fraud statute is pretty effective. It 

is a 5-year charge, up to 5 years in prison for each mail fraud 

count, and up to $250,000 in fines. So it is a great statute. It is 

over 100 years old. It has been tweaked just a little bit, but we find 

it to be extremely effective. 

Chairman GRAHAM. Does it apply to telemarketing? 

Mr. MIHALKO. Well, there is mail fraud and wire fraud. 

Chairman GRAHAM. The mail follows the conversation, yes. 

Mr. MIHALKO. Almost every one of these telemarketers involves 

the use of the mail at some point. 

Chairman GRAHAM. What if someone was called on the phone 

and they just made a wire transfer of money? Would you have a 

problem there? 

Mr. MIHALKO. We still work those types of cases, yes. If we get 

the complaint, we are going to follow through. 

Chairman GRAHAM. Well, Mr. Huse, what would your wish list 

be? If you need some time to make it up, the offer stands for you, 

also. 

Mr. HUSE. Well, Mr. Chairman, the title of this hearing, ‘‘Crimes 

Against the Elderly,’’ really kind of embraces what we do for a living at the Social Security OIG. With the client base that we have 

of those American citizens who receive Social Security benefits, 

many of them are elderly. So it is not just limited to these kinds 

of schemes. We have those elderly beneficiaries who are in nursing 

home care facilities that are covered by representative payees who 

also are subject to our scrutiny and focus and are defrauded sometimes by those, and we have testified before Congress on those 

issues. And then the Social Security number itself, its integrity, is 

our prime responsibility, and that is the keystone to identity fraud 

in this country, since it is our ad hoc national identifier. 

So I do have a wish list, to get to the point. Presently, in this 

Congress, there are two bills that originated with the Social Security Subcommittee in the House. H.R. 743 has provisions in it that 

10

would strengthen some of the civil money remedies we have. And 

also in the identity fraud area the Social Security Protection Act, 

and that might be a general title, but H.R. 2971, when it comes to 

the Senate, definitely is something that would help us. 

Chairman GRAHAM. Well, we will keep our eyes and ears open 

for that, but my offer stands about trying to take some of these 

civil aspects and make them criminal, if that is at all possible. 

Mr. HUSE. We welcome that. We will work with you closely on 

that. 

Chairman GRAHAM. No pun intended, pushing the envelope here, 

okay? 

Well, thank you both very much for your testimony. 

Mr. HUSE. Thank you, Senator. 

Mr. MIHALKO. Thank you. 

Chairman GRAHAM. Thank you very much. 

I have for the record statements from Senators Grassley and 

Leahy that we will introduce, and appreciate their concern. 

Well, thank you all. One administrative matter. I hate to get you 

right back up, but if you will stand just for a second, I will swear 

you in, if you don’t mind. Raise your right hands. 

Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give 

is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you 

God? 

Mr. CHILES. I do. 

Mr. WRIGHT. I do. 

Mr. HOLBROOK. I do. 

Ms. STIEGEL. I do. 

Chairman GRAHAM. If you could quickly introduce yourselves for 

the record for me to get to know you better, then we will start taking testimony from my left to the right. 

Mr. CHILES. Senator, I am Chris Chiles. I am the prosecuting attorney from Cabell County, West Virginia, here on behalf of the 

National District Attorneys Association. 

Mr. WRIGHT. I am Jim Wright, representing the National Sheriffs’ Association, and I run the Triad program there. 

Chairman GRAHAM. Thank you, sir. 

Mr. HOLBROOK. Senator Graham, I am Doug Holbrook, a member 

of the board of directors of AARP. 

Chairman GRAHAM. Thank you, sir. 

Ms. STIEGEL. Senator, I am Lori Stiegel, from the American Bar 

Association. 

Chairman GRAHAM. Thank you all. Thank you very much for 

coming. We look forward to hearing from you. 

Mr. Chiles, would you like to start? 

STATEMENT OF HON. CHRISTOPHER D. CHILES, PROSECUTING ATTORNEY, CABELL COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA, AND 

VICE PRESIDENT, NATIONAL DISTRICT ATTORNEYS ASSOCIATION, ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA 

Mr. CHILES. Thank you, Senator. As I said, my name is Chris 

Chiles and I am the elected prosecuting attorney in Cabell County, 

West Virginia. I am honored to serve as Vice President of the National District Attorneys Association, and I want to thank you on 

11

behalf of the NDAA for the opportunity to present our concerns on 

elder abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation. 

To place my remarks in context, let me briefly tell you about my 

jurisdiction. Cabell County has a population of almost 100,000 people, with some 16 percent being over the age of 65 years. I currently supervise a staff of 8 full-time and 2 part-time assistant 

prosecuting attorneys. Annually, my office prosecutes several hundred felony cases, almost 7,000 misdemeanor cases, and over 800 

juvenile cases. 

Before I begin my remarks, Senator, I would ask that my complete testimony be included in the record, and I would also request 

that the National District Attorneys Association’s policy entitled 

‘‘Policy Positions on Elder Abuse, Neglect, and Financial Exploitation’’ be included in the record. 

Chairman GRAHAM. Without objection, it will be so ordered. 

Mr. CHILES. Thank you, sir. 

Since 1986, the board of directors of NDAA has been concerned 

about elder abuse. In that year, they adopted a resolution on elder 

abuse, stating that vast numbers of our country’s elderly citizens 

have silently endured physical trauma, financial devastation, and 

emotional distress because they have been victimized by anonymous criminals, or perhaps worse by one’s trusted caretakers or 

family members. 

Just as the criminal justice system has rightly recognized that 

child abuse can be curbed by the enactment of new laws and the 

use of special procedures, so too should the system be amenable to 

changes on behalf of our growing elderly population. Since then, 

NDAA has worked to make this resolution a viable concept. 

Now, Senator, we have just heard about the problem of financial 

exploitation of the elderly. I have prosecuted many of those types 

of cases and have some pending right now. It is a serious problem, 

but I would like to talk to you now about physical abuse and neglect of the elderly. 

I want you to realize that it could be your father who gets 

mugged when he comes out of the grocery store with a bag groceries and is unable to defend himself. It might be your mother, in 

her 80’s or 90’s, who is still able to live alone and proud of the fact 

that she is still able to care for herself, who has her house broken 

into one night and is sexually assaulted, vaginally and anally, before being strangled to death and not found until the next evening. 

I have a case just like that which is pending right now. 

Or maybe it is someone who thinks that they are still able to 

care for themselves and make proper decisions about their wellbeing, but really isn’t, and let’s someone, perhaps a stranger or perhaps a relative with a drug problem, move in with them to help 

take care of them who ends up stealing from them or physically 

abusing them. 

These abuses happen everyday somewhere in this country, and 

not enough is being done to stop it and successfully prosecute these 

predators. Elder abuse is an ever-growing problem and it comes in 

many different forms. The problem is similar to that which we 

faced with child abuse not that many years ago. Not so long ago, 

no one wanted to believe that a family friend, a parent, a grandparent, or a teacher would ever harm, much less sexually abuse, 

12

a child. A child victim did not know who to tell when it did happen, 

or was reluctant to tell because it was a loved one who abused 

them. Or they didn’t think anyone would believe them, or they 

thought it was their fault that this happened to them. It took years 

of educating the public and training our prosecutors and police that 

unfortunately this does happen and what has be done to stop it. 

The same thing is true today with elder abuse. We as a society 

do not want to believe anyone, especially a family member or a 

caregiver, would harm or neglect our parents or grandparents. 

Similarly, our elders are afraid to disclose abuse or neglect for a 

variety of reasons. Just as we have found it difficult to convince a 

jury that a parent could harm a child, we are finding that it is 

equally hard to convince them that a child could harm their father 

or mother. 

As prosecutors, we have a lot to learn about protecting our elderly. We need to recognize the special needs of elderly victims and 

witnesses. We need to learn the specialized forensic issues that are 

involved with elderly victims, and we need to learn the trial skills 

that will successfully ensure that justice is achieved for the elderly. 

As importantly, we need to become leaders in our communities in 

protecting our elderly and educating ourselves, but the police, 

EMTs, medical personnel, and the public about elder abuse and neglect. 

In closing, Senator, I would commend to your review the Elder 

Justice Act, Senate bill 333, coauthored by Senator Breaux and 

Chairman Hatch, and many of the members of this Committee 

have joined as sponsors. The National District Attorneys Association has gone on record as supporting this bill for what it represents to our parents and grandparents. 

We cannot as a society, and especially as those charged with protecting all our citizens, especially our elders, allow this abuse and 

neglect to continue unabated. On behalf of America’s prosecutors, 

I and the National District Attorneys Association urge you to take 

steps to provide Federal assistance to our efforts to fight abuse, neglect, and exploitation of the elderly. We look forward to continuing 

to work with you on addressing this growing problem. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Chiles appears as a submission 

for the record.] 

Chairman GRAHAM. Thank you, Mr. Chiles. 

Mr. Wright. 

STATEMENT OF JAMES A. WRIGHT, NATIONAL SHERIFFS’ 

ASSOCIATION, ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA 

Mr. WRIGHT. Thank you. Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, and 

thank you for the opportunity to offer comments. I am here to represent the National Sheriffs’ Association as the Director of Triad, 

a program that serves seniors all across the country. 

Having spent my entire adult life in law enforcement, retiring at 

the rank of captain from the Metropolitan Police Department in 

Washington, D.C., I have firsthand knowledge of the devastating 

effect that abuse, neglect, and exploitation can have on the elderly. 

Oftentimes, elderly victims of crime do not report their victimization to authorities. One of the most common reasons seniors give 

for not calling law enforcement is that they are afraid of the perpeVerDate 0ct 09 2002 10:21 May 12, 2004 Jkt 093251 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 S:\GPO\HEARINGS\93251.TXT SJUD4 PsN: CMORC
13

trator, who is often known to the victim. In cases of financial exploitation, seniors cite the fact that they do not want their adult 

children or caretakers to know that they have been defrauded, primarily because the senior fears losing his or her financial independence. 

In many cases, the persons abusing or exploiting the elderly are 

their own children, grandchildren, or trusted advisers. Such victimization raises enormous uncertainties in the minds of seniors, making them more likely not to report the incident. 

When victimized, seniors often feel there is little that can be 

done to assist them, knowing that in many cases the perpetrator 

is in another State, or even another country, and may never be 

brought to justice. Restitution may not be likely, but revictimization is. Prevention, then, is not the only option, but is by far the 

best option. 

In the late 1980’s, at the beginning of the community policing 

movement in America, representatives from three national organizations came together to address the issue crime safety for seniors. 

The American Association of Retired Persons, now AARP, the 

International Association of Chiefs of Police, and the National 

Sheriffs’ Association joined together to form Triad, and the name 

Triad is simply representative of the group of three. 

In its simplest terms, Triad is a concept of partnership. Its goals 

were and are to reduce crimes committed against seniors and to reduce the unwarranted fear of crime that seniors often experience. 

Since Triad’s inception, more than 800 counties throughout 47 

States have signed Triad agreements. 

After establishing the Triad agreement, a SALT council is formed 

to develop and implement programs and activities. SALT is an acronym for Seniors and Law Enforcement Together, and it is made 

up of community representatives. Since being founded 15 years 

ago, the number of partners has increased dramatically. A local 

Triad in the year 2003 is far more inclusive than ever before, and 

now a Triad is likely to include representatives from sheriffs’ offices and police departments, Federal law enforcement, fire departments, EMS, the faith community, senior volunteers organizations 

such as AARP and RSVP, State and county prosecutors, district attorneys, State attorneys general, area agencies on aging, adult protection, social services, hospitals. Even banking institutions participate in Triad. 

Programs fit local needs, and one example is an RUOK program 

where shut-in seniors or seniors with limited mobility are contacted 

each day by other volunteers simply to ascertain if they are okay. 

Another program, Senior Visitation, has deputies and officers periodically visiting seniors in their homes just to spend some time and 

to chat with the seniors. Some other Triad programs are senior 

education, senior fares, senior lectures on fraud, financial abuse, 

and other crimes. 

Triad is one way for law enforcement personnel to be in frequent 

contact with the elderly. The value of this interaction between law 

enforcement and seniors cannot be overstated. Such contact opens 

communication and allows trained law enforcement personnel to 

recognize patterns and trends, and to witness situations where seniors are being victimized or are potential victims. 

14

An important benefit is that when law enforcement officers observe these situations, they can intervene and either prevent a 

crime or initiate an investigation. This, in turn, removes the weight 

of having to decide whether or not to file a report from the senior. 

Such communication works the other way as well, in that it gives 

seniors the opportunity to pass along important information to the 

police about potential suspicious activity, such as terrorism or 

drug- or gang-related activities that are in their neighborhood. 

So it seems to me, Mr. Chairman, that the question is not only 

whether or not we are doing enough to protect our Nation’s elderly, 

but also whether those things we are doing are effective. Triad, like 

Neighborhood Watch, is there for the asking. These programs can 

be replicated in communities all across the country or can be modified to fit individual community needs. 

Triad programs help ensure that law enforcement, criminal justice professionals, and volunteers coalesce their energy so as to reduce crime against the elderly. Senators Rod Grams and Evan 

Bayh sponsored legislation that passed Congress unanimously authorizing Federal funding for the Triad program, and while it has 

been funded in fiscal year 2003, it does not appear that it will be 

funded in fiscal year 2004. The National Sheriffs’ Association and 

those of us committed to Triad will continue to work to increase the 

number of communities utilizing this grass-roots community-oriented program. 

I sincerely thank the Committee for the opportunity to offer comments and for its willingness to address this important issue. I 

would be pleased to respond to any questions. 

Chairman GRAHAM. Mr. Wright, thank you for coming. I understand that you gave up an annual meeting trip to Minnesota to be 

here. Is that correct? 

Mr. WRIGHT. Yes, sir. 

Chairman GRAHAM. Well, thank you for doing that. It has been 

very helpful. Before going to the next witness, what was the budget 

last year for Triad? 

Mr. WRIGHT. One million dollars. 

Chairman GRAHAM. And it is not in this year’s appropriation? 

Mr. WRIGHT. No, sir, not yet. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Wright appears as a submission 

for the record.] 

Chairman GRAHAM. Mr. Holbrook. 

STATEMENT OF DOUGLAS C. HOLBROOK, MEMBER, BOARD OF 

DIRECTORS, AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF RETIRED PERSONS, WASHINGTON, D.C. 

Mr. HOLBROOK. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and good afternoon 

again. I am Doug Holbrook, a member of the AARP board of directors. On behalf of AARP, I want to thank the Crime Subcommittee 

for convening this hearing to assess the Nation’s effort to combat 

elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation. 

At this time, I would like to request also that our complete testimony be included in the record. 

Chairman GRAHAM. Without objection. 

Mr. HOLBROOK. State and national attention to elder abuse concerns is strongly supported by AARP members and older AmeriVerDate 0ct 09 2002 10:21 May 12, 2004 Jkt 093251 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 S:\GPO\HEARINGS\93251.TXT SJUD4 PsN: CMORC
15

cans generally. Our members tell us that protecting themselves 

and their loved ones from abuse and fraud is one of their major 

concerns. 

The risk of harm is real, and that risk is growing with the dramatic increase in the number of people living into advanced old 

age. Engaging all sectors of society in the fight against abuse, neglect, and exploitation is essential. Elder abuse is a hidden problem. Only the most visible and recurring cases get reported. Like 

an iceberg, the bulk of the problem remains hidden from view. 

Despite underreporting, there has been a very substantial increase in the number of official reports of domestic elder abuse. Between 1986 and 1996, the number of reports rose from 117,000 to 

293,000, an increase of 150 percent. The number is expected to continue to rise in the future. 

Developing the support services and enforcement network to 

meet the needs of a large number of potentially vulnerable persons 

poses a significant challenge. Current laws addressing elder abuse 

and our system of protective services are far from perfect. Not long 

ago, it was difficult, if not impossible, to get an abuse case investigated or prosecuted. Fortunately, that situation has changed, but 

there is still a great need for specialized knowledge that will allow 

successful prosecution and encourage further development of case 

law. We would like for you to see our full statement for examples 

of the many gaps in the network of services for the abused. 

Recognizing the need for a coordinated approach to the problems 

of abuse and neglect, AARP joined a number of organizations in 

supporting the Elder Justice Act of 2003. This legislation would 

greatly enhance the Federal Government’s ability to partner with 

States and communities to develop the tools needed to ensure safety of the most vulnerable citizens. 

While advocating strongly for Federal proposals like the Elder 

Justice Act, AARP recognizes the need for ongoing efforts at the 

State level to improve public awareness, the quality of investigations, and enforcement in cases of abuse and neglect. These efforts 

are particularly important in periods where we have fiscal austerity. 

Enforcement and prosecution play a key role in redressing abuse 

and neglect after they have occurred. But just as important is the 

role of prevention. Early detection of warning signs through the encouragement of wider reporting and community policing can make 

a critical difference. 

Also, AARP has historically been concerned about financial 

fraud—the fastest growing form of abuse. The main hurdles to successful prosecution of these crimes are getting the cases reported 

to law enforcement, having them thoroughly investigated, and obtaining timely and appropriate prosecution. 

Financial exploitation has many disguises, causes, and forms of 

expression, but the common thread of its many methods is an effort 

by unscrupulous persons to extract money and resources through 

a variety of ways. AARP is addressing the problem through programs that educate members, families, professionals, and potential 

victims. 

Some AARP initiatives include daily money management. This 

helps older persons who are losing their ability to handle their fiVerDate 0ct 09 2002 10:21 May 12, 2004 Jkt 093251 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 S:\GPO\HEARINGS\93251.TXT SJUD4 PsN: CMORC
16

nances to find someone to help them manage their money—a very 

successful program. Financial education projects expand financial 

awareness and enable participants to evaluate the trustworthiness 

of supposed advisers and experts. 

Colorado Elder-Watch protects older adults from the financial exploitation of telemarketers and other forms of identity theft 

schemes. Campaign Against Predatory Lending advocates legislative reform, pursues precedent-setting legislation, and offers education to homeowners regarding what to watch for in borrowing 

against the equity in their homes. 

Consumer universities may offer presentations by local legal experts to avoid being exploited in the financial marketplace; legal 

clinics and attorney training seminars; use of the AARP media, including The Bulletin and AAPR-The Magazine, reaching over 34 

million homes. Research by the AARP Public Policy Institute on 

consumer financial and fraud issues includes pre-need funeral and 

burial arrangements, identity theft, and the regulation of home improvement contractors and sub-prime mortgage lending. 

Senator Graham, AARP appreciates your leadership and efforts 

to assure the safety and well-being of older American citizens. We 

look forward to working with the Committee, with your staff, the 

administration, and any other group concerned toward solving this 

very important problem. 

Thank you very much. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Holbrook appears as a submission for the record.] 

Chairman GRAHAM. Thank you, Mr. Holbrook. I really appreciate 

what AARP is doing. I know you all spend a lot of time and money 

on this, and it is very valuable to us all. 

Ms. STIEGEL. 

STATEMENT OF LORI A. STIEGEL, ASSOCIATE STAFF DIRECTOR, COMMISSION ON LAW AND AGING, AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION, WASHINGTON, D.C. 

Ms. STIEGEL. Chairman Graham, thank you again on behalf of 

the American Bar Association for inviting us to be here today. I 

work for the ABA’s Commission on Law and Aging, and for the 

past 10 years have directed all of our elder abuse activities. 

You have already heard, and you had already mentioned that 

elder abuse is a crime. When I talk about elder abuse, I am specifically referring to that committed by family members, caregivers, 

and trusted others, not by strangers or the predators whom we 

heard about from the earlier panel. 

Some case examples are always important. In your own State, a 

son was convicted for having allowed his mother to rot to death 

from bed soars that were embedded with bobby pins and roiling 

with maggots. 

In Delaware, another example occurs where a nursing home aide 

was convicted for hanging a resident’s baby doll by a noose from 

the ceiling of the resident’s room. The aide knew that this resident 

had dementia and honestly believed that this baby doll was her 

live baby. These are two examples of the kind of cases that happen 

everyday in every State across this country. 

17

Elder abuse is clearly a crime, but it is only fairly recently that 

we have begun to respond to it that way instead of only looking at 

it as being a family problem, a social problem to which social and 

human services responded. So as a result, we are really at the forefront of having the criminal justice system understand and respond 

to these cases. 

My co-panelists have talked about the need for training of prosecutors and law enforcement, but the needs and the gaps go far beyond that. Judges need training on these issues. Civil lawyers need 

to understand that this is a criminal issue, and the criminal law 

needs to understand that it is a civil issue as well. Adult protective 

services workers need to understand that they need to co-refer and 

cross-refer these cases to law enforcement and others. The gaps in 

the system are tremendous just in terms of the basic knowledge 

and understanding of working with each other. 

In addition, the science isn’t there very often to prove that elder 

abuse has occurred in many of these cases. Whereas with children 

we know that certain types of injuries are only caused by abuse, 

we don’t yet have that science to understand that for elder abuse, 

and we really need it for the criminal justice system to respond appropriately. 

You have heard, and I would agree, that elder abuse is very complex because of the range of people who commit it, that being family members, caregivers, trusted others. That makes it so much 

more difficult for elder victims to turn to the system for help. The 

shame and stigma they face is even greater than when the problem 

has been conducted by a stranger. 

We know that this impact is so serious on individuals. What we 

don’t know is how serious is the impact on society. We know there 

must be social costs, but nobody has studied that yet, and the National Research Council study panel noted that in its recent report 

on elder abuse, neglect, and mistreatment. 

Let me offer to you some suggestions and things on which the 

ABA has policy that we would like to see happen. We believe there 

is a need for a nationwide structure for raising public awareness, 

supporting research, providing training and technical assistance, 

funding critical services, including prosecution, adult protective 

services, and legal services, and coordinating the resources among 

the States, territories and national levels. 

We believe there is a need to develop and implement specialized 

training about elder abuse for all components of the justice system. 

We believe there is a need to establish Federal leadership to ensure 

that adult protective services and legal and other services are of 

sufficient quality to protect and serve victims of elder abuse. There 

are numerous Federal employees who work on issues of child abuse 

and domestic violence. There is not one full-time Federal employee 

working on the issue of elder abuse. 

There is a need for broad-based, multi-disciplinary task forces 

and coalitions in each State to examine and develop systemic approaches to elder abuse interventions. Your own State is an example of where there is a State adult protection coordinating council 

that is doing wonderful work. 

We would like to see a multi-disciplinary research agenda sustained, advanced, and assessed. The National Research Council 

18

just developed a wonderful agenda. Now, it needs to be funded and 

implemented. We would like to see resources for preventing and responding to elder abuse, and adequate tools and services to enable 

capacity assessments for victims of elder abuse because the capacity is often an issue in so many of these cases, and critical to successful prosecution. Again, we would like to see legal and other 

services more readily available to meet the immediate and crisis 

needs of victims. 

There are a lot of wonderful things happening already across the 

country, but those efforts are intermittent and often very depend 

just on one person’s interest and commitment to the issue. When 

that one person leaves, the interest goes away. So we need to see 

it become more institutionalized. 

Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Stiegel appears as a submission 

for the record.] 

Chairman GRAHAM. Thank you all. 

We will just start with you on that note. One of the benefits, 

hopefully, of the Senate legislation—I think it is 333, the Elder 

Abuse Act? 

Ms. STIEGEL. Yes. 

Chairman GRAHAM. One of the hopes is it will create a system 

sort of like the Violence Against Women Act and other Federal legislation that sort of gives focus to it. But if you could get back to 

me with what you would like to see changed or improved—I don’t 

know if you had had a chance to look at it, but some of your requests maybe could be molded into the Act, because that seems to 

be the best vehicle in the short term. 

If we could pass this thing, I think it would be a huge leap forward. No pun intended, but we are in the infancy of addressing 

this problem nationally; we really are. In my time as a lawyer, it 

got to be something I heard about, but never really thought about 

that much because you are always focused on children. But you 

will find in some of those families that you have an abuse problem 

that goes beyond just children. 

So I would very much like to institutionalize this, so that is 

maybe where the ABA could help us. If you would go over the legislation and give us some input on the Subcommittee on how we 

could make some changes, I would appreciate it. 

Mr. Holbrook, how much money do you think you all spend trying to educate your membership and others about what is going on 

out there? 

Mr. HOLBROOK. Mr. Chairman, as you know, our organization is 

basically a volunteer organization. 

Chairman GRAHAM. Right. 

Mr. HOLBROOK. We have over 300,000 volunteers across the 

country who are involved in different phases of all these programs 

that I mentioned to you today. I would be more than happy to have 

the staff supply you an itemized cost list as to what we spend in 

each category, but I would like to make sure that we take into account the fact that we have most of our activity going on with volunteers who are devoting their time, as we are on our board of directors, to make sure that these things happen. But the staff will 

19

provide you with information on cost, because I think it is an important question. 

Chairman GRAHAM. To me, it is one of the best projects you could 

take up in terms of your membership. 

Mr. HOLBROOK. I agree. 

Chairman GRAHAM. How many members do you have now? 

Mr. HOLBROOK. Thirty-five million. 

Chairman GRAHAM. And you communicate with them fairly regularly? 

Mr. HOLBROOK. We try to communicate with them everyday. 

Chairman GRAHAM. Everyday. 

Mr. HOLBROOK. Not only with our magazine which goes out to 

each of their homes, but also those that have access to our Web 

page have immediate access to information that is going on all the 

time. So we are very pleased with the progress we have made in 

communicating with our members throughout the country. 

Chairman GRAHAM. Now, when you talk to them and you get information back about what is on their minds, how does this particular elder abuse problem rank in terms of the top 5 or 6 or 10? 

Mr. HOLBROOK. It ranks very high, within the first probably two 

or three. It is a very important issue on the minds of our members 

and continues, I think, to increase every year. We hear more and 

more problems about elder abuse in our country. Predatory lending 

is one that we spend a tremendous amount of time on. 

Chairman GRAHAM. Absolutely. 

Mr. HOLBROOK. And also the others that I mentioned in my testimony and in our statement. All of these concern our members, and 

the unfortunate part about this is that so many of them have been 

taken advantage of by operators who have no concern about what 

they do for a living. They just take advantage of people. 

To me, it is a very personal thing, as it is with you, because it 

has affected my own family and the families of most all of us. So 

I am sure that it is something that we in AARP want to do something about, and I am delighted that the Senate and the Congress 

is now looking at this as a real problem that we must address. 

Chairman GRAHAM. Do you think we are just asking better questions, or is there more activity going on in terms of elder abuse? 

A little of both? 

Mr. HOLBROOK. Well, I think there is more activity going on. I 

think there is more awareness of it. I was a little disappointed 

today when I read what happened in Oklahoma on the ‘‘do not call’’ 

list, where the judge ruled it no longer in effect. I was a little disturbed about that. 

Chairman GRAHAM. Me, too. 

Mr. HOLBROOK. Fifty million people are already signed up and 

now they say they are not going to deal with that. That was a very 

important part of trying to protect senior citizens. 

Chairman GRAHAM. One of the things I would like to look at is 

capacity. Some people really don’t have the capacity to make that 

initial phone call to take them off the list. Maybe there is something the Bar Association can do, or we can sort of institutionalize 

some type of guardian program to kind of shut the flow of information off. 

20

Just to sum up what you are telling me, you are getting more 

input from your 35 million members over this issue than you have 

in the past and it is in the top two or three concerns. 

Mr. HOLBROOK. I would say yes. 

Chairman GRAHAM. If you could let me know how that develops 

over time, I think you are a great resource for us there. 

Mr. HOLBROOK. We would be very happy to. 

Chairman GRAHAM. On the prosecution and enforcement side, 

the cases you have described are horrible, and there are laws that 

deal with sexual abuse and there are laws that deal with violence. 

What we have done in the child abuse area has paid tremendous 

dividends. I was a prosecutor in the Air Force and from my 6-year 

period, it went from being an occasional thing you would find to almost an epidemic. It really was always there; we just learned to 

ask questions better. We got the mental health agencies involved, 

and doctors involved, and school teachers involved to kind of educate the people on the front lines about victims. 

If you look, you will find more victims than you ever thought. So, 

hopefully, one of the things that the Elder Abuse Act will do is give 

us more eyes and give us a greater ability to look and understand 

what we are looking for. In terms of partnerships, I will try to help you with your $1 million funding. I am the new guy on the block. We will see how that 

goes, but it seems to be a project well worth putting some money 

behind. 

My staff gave me a good question—more of a comment than a 

question. The Justice Department has done a good job, I think, 

with Project Safe Neighborhoods, where they coordinate with local 

law enforcement—I am sure you are familiar with it—on gun 

crimes. The number of gun crimes has gone down dramatically because you have a task force mentality now between law enforcement officers and prosecutors at different levels to look at a particular crime when a gun is involved and kind of brain-storm it and 

see what Federal laws would fit, what State laws would fit, to get 

the maximum impact. 

I understand what Triad is about. Do you think something similar could occur in this area where you have elder abuse? I am all 

for States having the first bite at the apple and I don’t want to federalize every crime in the country, but I would imagine a lot of 

these cases have a Federal component to them if you look hard 

enough. 

Mr. CHILES. Senator, I think certainly on the financial exploitation side, that would be true. 

Chairman GRAHAM. Right, exactly. 

Mr. CHILES. On the physical side, probably not. 

Chairman GRAHAM. Probably not, and you all are very capable 

of doing that, but I would like to get these people as hard as we 

can get them. Chances are, they have been abused in more than 

one way. 

Mr. CHILES. Yes, sir. In our most recent policy statement, adopted in March, one of the things that we strongly recommend, where 

possible, with office size and everything else, is the forming of task 

forces much like you suggest, to incorporate all different law enforcement agencies, social service agencies, adult protective servVerDate 0ct 09 2002 10:21 May 12, 2004 Jkt 093251 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 S:\GPO\HEARINGS\93251.TXT SJUD4 PsN: CMORC
21

ices, and to react as a task force much as we are often now able 

to do in child abuse cases. 

One of the things that would help us in that regard, with prosecutors taking the lead on that task force, is more training. One 

of the things that we are recommending is the formation of a national center for the prosecution of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation through the American Prosecutors Research Institute. Right 

now, APRI has a section like that in child abuse where they train 

literally hundreds of prosecutors a year, which lets the prosecutors 

then go back and, among other things, set up these task forces and 

things like that. 

Chairman GRAHAM. Become experts, right. Well, we have a good 

site in Columbia, South Carolina, to do that. 

Mr. CHILES. We would love to use the NAC for that, also, yes, 

sir. 

Chairman GRAHAM. Stay in touch with us about the efforts to do 

that. 

Mr. Wright, I do appreciate your taking time out to come. From 

the law enforcement side of the equation, would you be amenable 

to a Project Safe Neighborhoods for seniors? 

Mr. WRIGHT. Absolutely, Mr. Chairman. Triads are locally managed and they work in different ways, and there is one, in fact, in 

Denver, the Metro Denver Triad, in which the district attorney 

there kind of heads it up. Typically, as I understand it, each year 

the Irish travelers who do a lot of home repair fraud— 

Chairman GRAHAM. Yes. Some of them are from South Carolina. 

Mr. WRIGHT. They are, they are, and they go out there and when 

they come out there in the spring, they have a task force approach 

which includes the Denver Police Department and the sheriff departments in Arapaho, Jefferson, and the surrounding counties. 

Chairman GRAHAM. Does it have a Federal component to it? 

Mr. WRIGHT. Not that I am aware of, sir. 

Chairman GRAHAM. Maybe that is something we could integrate 

because it has worked very well in the gun area, where you get a 

Federal-State connection to really look at all the avenues available 

to you. 

Mr. WRIGHT. Yes. Certainly, the National Sheriffs’ Association 

also supports the Elder Justice Act. As was already stated, a lot 

of the response is intermittent and it comes and goes, so I would 

certainly support it. 

Chairman GRAHAM. Well, what I will do to help the cause a bit 

is I will try to write Attorney General Ashcroft, who is a good 

friend and I think doing a great job for us in terms of fighting 

crime. I will try to write him and see if we can get some involvement, some thinking going on to try to integrate into what you are 

already doing nationwide. Hopefully, we can get some funding. 

Mr. WRIGHT. We appreciate that. 

Chairman GRAHAM. Anything else that you would like to leave 

with the Subcommittee before we call it a day? 

Thank you all. It has been very helpful. I appreciate your time 

and your energy, and I appreciate very much your coming. 

We have a resolution from the bar association that we will put 

in the record. 

Thank you all. The hearing is adjourned. 

22

[Whereupon, at 3:39 p.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.] 

[Additional material is being retained in Committee files.] 

[Questions and answers and submissions for the record follow.]

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