S. 178 

One Hundred Fifteenth Congress 

of the 

United States of America 

AT THE FIRST SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday, 

the third day of January, two thousand and seventeen 

An Act 

To prevent elder abuse and exploitation and improve the justice system’s response 

to victims in elder abuse and exploitation cases. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 

the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Elder Abuse 

Prevention and Prosecution Act’’. 

(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for this Act 

is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—SUPPORTING FEDERAL CASES INVOLVING ELDER JUSTICE 

Sec. 101. Supporting Federal cases involving elder justice. 

TITLE II—IMPROVED DATA COLLECTION AND FEDERAL COORDINATION 

Sec. 201. Establishment of best practices for local, State, and Federal data collection. 

Sec. 202. Effective interagency coordination and Federal data collection. 

TITLE III—ENHANCED VICTIM ASSISTANCE TO ELDER ABUSE SURVIVORS 

Sec. 301. Sense of the Senate. 

Sec. 302. Report. 

TITLE IV—ROBERT MATAVA ELDER ABUSE PROSECUTION ACT OF 2017 

Sec. 401. Short title. 

Sec. 402. Enhanced penalty for telemarketing and email marketing fraud directed 

at elders. 

Sec. 403. Training and technical assistance for States. 

Sec. 404. Interstate initiatives. 

TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS 

Sec. 501. Court-appointed guardianship oversight activities under the Elder Justice 

Act of 2009. 

Sec. 502. GAO reports. 

Sec. 503. Outreach to State and local law enforcement agencies. 

Sec. 504. Model power of attorney legislation. 

Sec. 505. Best practices and model legislation for guardianship proceedings. 

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

In this Act— 

(1) the terms ‘‘abuse’’, ‘‘adult protective services’’, ‘‘elder’’, 

‘‘elder justice’’, ‘‘exploitation’’, ‘‘law enforcement’’, and ‘‘neglect’’ 

have the meanings given those terms in section 2011 of the 

Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397j); 

(2) the term ‘‘elder abuse’’ includes abuse, neglect, and 

exploitation of an elder; and 
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(3) the term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several States 

of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any other territory or possession 

of the United States. 

TITLE I—SUPPORTING FEDERAL CASES 

INVOLVING ELDER JUSTICE 

SEC. 101. SUPPORTING FEDERAL CASES INVOLVING ELDER JUSTICE. 

(a) SUPPORT AND ASSISTANCE.— (1) ELDER JUSTICE COORDINATORS.—The Attorney General 

shall designate in each Federal judicial district not less than 

one Assistant United States Attorney to serve as the Elder 

Justice Coordinator for the district, who, in addition to any 

other responsibilities, shall be responsible for— 

(A) serving as the legal counsel for the Federal judicial 

district on matters relating to elder abuse; 

(B) prosecuting, or assisting in the prosecution of, elder 

abuse cases; 

(C) conducting public outreach and awareness activities 

relating to elder abuse; and 

(D) ensuring the collection of data required to be collected under section 202. 

(2) INVESTIGATIVE SUPPORT.—The Attorney General, in consultation with the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, shall, with respect to crimes relating to elder abuse, ensure 

the implementation of a regular and comprehensive training 

program to train agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation 

in the investigation and prosecution of such crimes and the 

enforcement of laws related to elder abuse, which shall 

include— 

(A) specialized strategies for communicating with and 

assisting elder abuse victims; and 

(B) relevant forensic training relating to elder abuse. 

(3) RESOURCE GROUP.—The Attorney General, through the 

Executive Office for United States Attorneys, shall ensure the 

operation of a resource group to facilitate the sharing of knowledge, experience, sample pleadings and other case documents, 

training materials, and any other resources to assist prosecutors 

throughout the United States in pursuing cases relating to 

elder abuse. 

(4) DESIGNATED ELDER JUSTICE WORKING GROUP OR SUBCOMMITTEE TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S ADVISORY COMMITTEE

OF UNITED STATES ATTORNEYS.—Not later than 60 days after 

the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, in 

consultation with the Director of the Executive Office for United 

States Attorneys, shall establish a subcommittee or working 

group to the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee of United 

States Attorneys, as established under section 0.10 of title 

28, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor thereto, for 

the purposes of advising the Attorney General on policies of 

the Department of Justice relating to elder abuse. 

(b) DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ELDER JUSTICE COORDINATOR.— 

Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

the Attorney General shall designate an Elder Justice Coordinator 
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within the Department of Justice who, in addition to any other 

responsibilities, shall be responsible for— 

(1) coordinating and supporting the law enforcement efforts 

and policy activities for the Department of Justice on elder 

justice issues; 

(2) evaluating training models to determine best practices 

and creating or compiling and making publicly available replication guides and training materials for law enforcement officers, 

prosecutors, judges, emergency responders, individuals working 

in victim services, adult protective services, social services, 

and public safety, medical personnel, mental health personnel, 

financial services personnel, and any other individuals whose 

work may bring them in contact with elder abuse regarding 

how to— 

(A) conduct investigations in elder abuse cases; 

(B) address evidentiary issues and other legal issues; 

and 

(C) appropriately assess, respond to, and interact with 

victims and witnesses in elder abuse cases, including in 

administrative, civil, and criminal judicial proceedings; and 

(3) carrying out such other duties as the Attorney General 

determines necessary in connection with enhancing the understanding, prevention, and detection of, and response to, elder 

abuse. 

(c) FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION.— (1) FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ELDER JUSTICE COORDI- NATOR.—Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment 

of this Act, the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission 

shall designate within the Bureau of Consumer Protection of 

the Federal Trade Commission an Elder Justice Coordinator 

who, in addition to any other responsibilities, shall be responsible for— 

(A) coordinating and supporting the enforcement and 

consumer education efforts and policy activities of the Federal Trade Commission on elder justice issues; and 

(B) serving as, or ensuring the availability of, a central 

point of contact for individuals, units of local government, 

States, and other Federal agencies on matters relating 

to the enforcement and consumer education efforts and 

policy activities of the Federal Trade Commission on elder 

justice issues. 

(2) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year after 

the date of enactment of this Act, and once every year thereafter, the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission and 

the Attorney General shall each submit to the Committee on 

the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary 

of the House of Representatives a report detailing the enforcement actions taken by the Federal Trade Commission and 

the Department of Justice, respectively, over the preceding 

year in each case in which not less than one victim was an 

elder or that involved a financial scheme or scam that was 

either targeted directly toward or largely affected elders, 

including— 

(A) the name of the district where the case originated; 

(B) the style of the case, including the case name 

and number; 

(C) a description of the scheme or scam; and 
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(D) the outcome of the case. 

(d) USE OF APPROPRIATED FUNDS.—No additional funds are 

authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section. 

TITLE II—IMPROVED DATA COLLECTION AND FEDERAL COORDINATION 

SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT OF BEST PRACTICES FOR LOCAL, STATE, 

AND FEDERAL DATA COLLECTION. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General, in consultation with 

Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies, shall— 

(1) establish best practices for data collection to focus on 

elder abuse; and 

(2) provide technical assistance to State, local, and tribal 

governments in adopting the best practices established under 

paragraph (1). 

(b) DEADLINE.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall publish the best 

practices established under subsection (a)(1) on the website of the 

Department of Justice in a publicly accessible manner. 

(c) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this section shall be construed 

to require or obligate compliance with the best practices established 

under subsection (a)(1). 

SEC. 202. EFFECTIVE INTERAGENCY COORDINATION AND FEDERAL 

DATA COLLECTION. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General, in consultation with 

the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall, on an annual 

basis— 

(1) collect from Federal law enforcement agencies, other 

agencies as appropriate, and Federal prosecutors’ offices statistical data related to elder abuse cases, including cases or investigations where one or more victims were elders, or the case 

or investigation involved a financial scheme or scam that was 

either targeted directly toward or largely affected elders; and 

(2) publish on the website of the Department of Justice 

in a publicly accessible manner— 

(A) a summary of the data collected under paragraph 

(1); and 

(B) recommendations for collecting additional data 

relating to elder abuse, including recommendations for 

ways to improve data reporting across Federal, State, and 

local agencies. 

(b) REQUIREMENT.—The data collected under subsection (a)(1) 

shall include— 

(1) the total number of investigations initiated by Federal 

law enforcement agencies, other agencies as appropriate, and 

Federal prosecutors’ offices related to elder abuse; 

(2) the total number and types of elder abuse cases filed 

in Federal courts; and 

(3) for each case described in paragraph (2)— 

(A) the name of the district where the case originated; 

(B) the style of the case, including the case name 

and number; 

(C) a description of the act or acts giving rise to the 

elder abuse; 
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(D) in the case of a scheme or scam, a description 

of such scheme or scam giving rise to the elder abuse; 

(E) information about each alleged perpetrator of the 

elder abuse; and 

(F) the outcome of the case. 

(c) HHS REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary of Health and Human 

Services shall, on an annual basis, provide to the Attorney General 

statistical data collected by the Secretary relating to elder abuse 

cases investigated by adult protective services, which shall be 

included in the summary published under subsection (a)(2). 

(d) PROHIBITION ON INDIVIDUAL DATA.—None of the information 

reported under this section shall include specific individually identifiable data. 

TITLE III—ENHANCED VICTIM ASSISTANCE TO ELDER ABUSE SURVIVORS 

SEC. 301. SENSE OF THE SENATE. 

(a) FINDINGS.—The Senate finds the following: 

(1) The vast majority of cases of abuse, neglect, and exploitation of older adults in the United States go unidentified 

and unreported. (2) Not less than $2,900,000,000 is taken from older adults 

each year due to financial abuse and exploitation. 

(3) Elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation have no boundaries and cross all racial, social, class, gender, and geographic 

lines. 

(4) Older adults who are abused are 3 times more likely 

to die earlier than older adults of the same age who are not 

abused. 

(5) Up to half of all older adults with dementia will experience abuse. 

(b) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the Senate that— 

(1) elder abuse involves the exploitation of potentially 

vulnerable individuals with devastating physical, mental, emotional, and financial consequences to the victims and their 

loved ones; 

(2) to combat this affront to America’s older adults, we 

must do everything possible to both support victims of elder 

abuse and prevent the abuse from occurring in the first place; 

and 

(3) the Senate supports a multipronged approach to prevent 

elder abuse and exploitation, protect the victims of elder abuse 

and exploitation from further harm, and bring the perpetrators 

of such crimes to justice. 

SEC. 302. REPORT. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the date on 

which the collection of statistical data under section 202(a)(1) begins 

and once each year thereafter, the Director of the Office for Victims 

of Crime shall submit a report to the Committee on the Judiciary 

of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House 

of Representatives that addresses, to the extent data are available, 

the nature, extent, and amount of funding under the Victims of 

Crime Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10601 et seq.) for victims of crime 

who are elders. 
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(b) CONTENTS.—The report required under subsection (a) shall 

include— 

(1) an analysis of victims’ assistance, victims’ compensation, 

and discretionary grants under which elder abuse victims 

(including elder victims of financial abuse, financial exploitation, and fraud) received assistance; and 

(2) recommendations for improving services for victims of 

elder abuse. 

TITLE IV—ROBERT MATAVA ELDER 

ABUSE PROSECUTION ACT OF 2017 

SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE. 

This title may be cited as the ‘‘Robert Matava Elder Abuse 

Prosecution Act of 2017’’. 

SEC. 402. ENHANCED PENALTY FOR TELEMARKETING AND EMAIL MARKETING FRAUD DIRECTED AT ELDERS. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 113A of title 18, United States Code, 

is amended— 

(1) in the chapter heading, by inserting ‘‘AND EMAIL 

MARKETING’’ after ‘‘TELEMARKETING’’; 

(2) by striking section 2325 and inserting the following: 

‘‘§ 2325. Definition 

‘‘In this chapter, the term ‘telemarketing or email marketing’— 

‘‘(1) means a plan, program, promotion, or campaign that 

is conducted to induce— 

‘‘(A) purchases of goods or services; 

‘‘(B) participation in a contest or sweepstakes; 

‘‘(C) a charitable contribution, donation, or gift of 

money or any other thing of value; 

‘‘(D) investment for financial profit; 

‘‘(E) participation in a business opportunity; 

‘‘(F) commitment to a loan; or 

‘‘(G) participation in a fraudulent medical study, 

research study, or pilot study, 

by use of one or more interstate telephone calls, emails, text 

messages, or electronic instant messages initiated either by 

a person who is conducting the plan, program, promotion, or 

campaign or by a prospective purchaser or contest or sweepstakes participant or charitable contributor, donor, or investor; 

and 

‘‘(2) does not include the solicitation through the posting, 

publication, or mailing of a catalog or brochure that— 

‘‘(A) contains a written description or illustration of 

the goods, services, or other opportunities being offered; 

‘‘(B) includes the business address of the solicitor; 

‘‘(C) includes multiple pages of written material or 

illustration; and 

‘‘(D) has been issued not less frequently than once 

a year, 

if the person making the solicitation does not solicit customers 

by telephone, email, text message, or electronic instant message, but only receives interstate telephone calls, emails, text 

messages, or electronic instant messages initiated by customers 
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in response to the written materials, whether in hard copy 

or digital format, and in response to those interstate telephone 

calls, emails, text messages, or electronic instant messages 

does not conduct further solicitation.’’; 

(3) in section 2326, in the matter preceding paragraph 

(1)— 

(A) by striking ‘‘or 1344’’ and inserting ‘‘1344, or 1347 

or section 1128B of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

1320a–7b)’’; and 

(B) by inserting ‘‘or email marketing’’ after ‘‘telemarketing’’; and 

(4) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘§ 2328. Mandatory forfeiture 

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The court, in imposing sentence on a person 

who is convicted of any offense for which an enhanced penalty 

is provided under section 2326, shall order that the defendant 

forfeit to the United States— 

‘‘(1) any property, real or personal, constituting or traceable 

to gross proceeds obtained from such offense; and 

‘‘(2) any equipment, software, or other technology used 

or intended to be used to commit or to facilitate the commission 

of such offense. 

‘‘(b) PROCEDURES.—The procedures set forth in section 413 of 

the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 853), other than subsection 

(d) of that section, and in Rule 32.2 of the Federal Rules of Criminal 

Procedure, shall apply to all stages of a criminal forfeiture proceeding under this section.’’. 

(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

(1) The table of chapters at the beginning of part I of 

title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking the item 

relating to chapter 113A and inserting the following: 

‘‘113A. Telemarketing and email marketing fraud ............................................. 2325’’. 

(2) The table of sections for chapter 113A of title 18, United 

States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating 

to section 2327 the following: 

‘‘2328. Mandatory forfeiture.’’. 

SEC. 403. TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR STATES. 

The Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of 

Health and Human Services and in coordination with the Elder 

Justice Coordinating Council (established under section 2021 of 

the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397k)), shall create, compile, 

evaluate, and disseminate materials and information, and provide 

the necessary training and technical assistance, to assist States 

and units of local government in— 

(1) investigating, prosecuting, pursuing, preventing, understanding, and mitigating the impact of— 

(A) physical, sexual, and psychological abuse of elders; 

(B) exploitation of elders, including financial abuse 

and scams targeting elders; and 

(C) neglect of elders; and 

(2) assessing, addressing, and mitigating the physical and 

psychological trauma to victims of elder abuse. 
S. 178—8 

SEC. 404. INTERSTATE INITIATIVES. 

(a) INTERSTATE AGREEMENTS AND COMPACTS.—The consent of 

Congress is given to any two or more States (acting through State 

agencies with jurisdiction over adult protective services) to enter 

into agreements or compacts for cooperative effort and mutual 

assistance— 

(1) in promoting the safety and well-being of elders; and 

(2) in enforcing their respective laws and policies to promote 

such safety and well-being. 

(b) RECOMMENDATIONS ON INTERSTATE COMMUNICATION.—The 

Executive Director of the State Justice Institute, in consultation 

with State or local adult protective services, aging, social, and 

human services and law enforcement agencies, nationally recognized 

nonprofit associations with expertise in data sharing among 

criminal justice agencies and familiarity with the issues raised 

in elder abuse cases, and the Secretary of Health and Human 

Services, shall submit to Congress legislative proposals relating 

to the facilitation of interstate agreements and compacts. 

TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS 

SEC. 501. COURT-APPOINTED GUARDIANSHIP OVERSIGHT ACTIVITIES 

UNDER THE ELDER JUSTICE ACT OF 2009. 

Section 2042(c) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397m– 

1(c)) is amended— 

(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘(and, in the case of 

demonstration programs described in paragraph (2)(E), to the 

highest courts of States)’’ after ‘‘States’’; 

(2) in paragraph (2)— 

(A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by 

inserting ‘‘(and the highest courts of States, in the case 

of demonstration programs described in subparagraph (E))’’ 

after ‘‘local units of government’’; 

(B) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘or’’ after the 

semicolon; 

(C) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as subparagraph (F); and 

(D) by inserting after subparagraph (D), the following 

new subparagraph: 

‘‘(E) subject to paragraph (3), programs to assess the 

fairness, effectiveness, timeliness, safety, integrity, and 

accessibility of adult guardianship and conservatorship proceedings, including the appointment and the monitoring 

of the performance of court-appointed guardians and conservators, and to implement changes deemed necessary 

as a result of the assessments such as mandating background checks for all potential guardians and conservators, 

and implementing systems to enable the annual 

accountings and other required conservatorship and 

guardianship filings to be completed, filed, and reviewed 

electronically in order to simplify the filing process for 

conservators and guardians and better enable courts to 

identify discrepancies and detect fraud and the exploitation 

of protected persons; or’’; 

(3) by redesignating paragraphs (3), (4), and (5) as paragraphs (4), (5), and (6), respectively; 
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(4) by inserting after paragraph (2), the following new 

paragraph: 

‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS FOR COURT-APPOINTED GUARDIANSHIP

OVERSIGHT DEMONSTRATION PROGRAMS.— ‘‘(A) AWARD OF GRANTS.—In awarding grants to the 

highest courts of States for demonstration programs 

described in paragraph (2)(E), the Secretary shall consider 

the recommendations of the Attorney General and the State 

Justice Institute, as established by section 203 of the State 

Justice Institute Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10702). 

‘‘(B) COLLABORATION.—The highest court of a State 

awarded a grant to conduct a demonstration program 

described in paragraph (2)(E) shall collaborate with the 

State Unit on Aging for the State and the Adult Protective 

Services agency for the State in conducting the demonstration program.’’; 

(5) in paragraph (4) (as redesignated by paragraph (3) 

of this section), by inserting ‘‘(and, in the case of demonstration 

programs described in paragraph (2)(E), the highest court of 

a State)’’ after ‘‘a State’’; and 

(6) in paragraph (5) (as so redesignated), by inserting ‘‘(or, 

in the case of demonstration programs described in paragraph 

(2)(E), the highest court of a State)’’ after ‘‘State’’ each place 

it appears. 

SEC. 502. GAO REPORTS. 

(a) ELDER JUSTICE RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 18 

months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 

General of the United States shall review existing Federal programs 

and initiatives in the Federal criminal justice system relevant to 

elder justice and shall submit to Congress— 

(1) a report on such programs and initiatives; and 

(2) any recommendations the Comptroller General determines are appropriate to improve elder justice in the United 

States. 

(b) REPORT ON ELDER ABUSE AND INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL

ENTERPRISES.—Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

shall submit to Congress a report on— 

(1) Federal Government efforts to monitor— 

(A) the exploitation of older adults of the United States 

in global drug trafficking schemes and other international 

criminal enterprises; 

(B) the extent to which exploitation of older adults 

of the United States by international criminal enterprises 

has resulted in the incarceration of these citizens of the 

United States in foreign countries; and 

(C) the total annual number of elder abuse cases 

pending in the United States; and 

(2) the results of intervention by the United States with 

foreign officials on behalf of citizens of the United States who 

are elder abuse victims in international criminal enterprises. 

SEC. 503. OUTREACH TO STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES. 

The Attorney General shall submit to the Committee on the 

Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of 

the House of Representatives a report on efforts by the Department 
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of Justice to conduct outreach to State and local law enforcement 

agencies on the process for collaborating with the Federal Government for the purpose of investigating and prosecuting interstate 

and international elder financial exploitation cases. 

SEC. 504. MODEL POWER OF ATTORNEY LEGISLATION. 

The Attorney General shall publish model power of attorney 

legislation for the purpose of preventing elder abuse. 

SEC. 505. BEST PRACTICES AND MODEL LEGISLATION FOR GUARDIANSHIP PROCEEDINGS. 

The Attorney General shall publish best practices for improving 

guardianship proceedings and model legislation relating to 

guardianship proceedings for the purpose of preventing elder abuse. 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.