II 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3598 

To protect elder adults from exploitation and financial crime, to prevent 

elder adult abuse and financial exploitation, and to promote safety for 

elder adults. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 20, 2012 

Mr. BLUMENTHAL introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To protect elder adults from exploitation and financial crime, 

to prevent elder adult abuse and financial exploitation, 

and to promote safety for elder adults. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Robert Matava Exploitation Protection for Elder Adults 

6 Act of 2012’’. 

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

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 


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TITLE I—FEDERAL PROSECUTION OF ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION 

DIRECTED AT ELDERS 

Sec. 101. Enhanced penalty for telemarketing and email-marketing fraud directed at elders. 

Sec. 102. Data collection. 

TITLE II—COORDINATION OF CIVIL PROTECTIONS AND CRIMINAL 

PROSECUTION AS IT RELATES TO ELDER JUSTICE 

Sec. 201. Model States laws and practices. 

Sec. 202. Civil protection and criminal prosecution. 

TITLE III—INTERSTATE INITIATIVES 

Sec. 301. Interstate agreements and compacts. 

Sec. 302. Recommendations on interstate communication. 

TITLE IV—GAO REPORT 

Sec. 401. GAO report to assess cost of elder abuse on Federal programs. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—In this Act— 

3 (1) the terms ‘‘abuse’’, ‘‘elder’’, ‘‘elder justice’’, 

4 ‘‘exploitation’’, and ‘‘neglect’’ have the meanings 

5 given those terms in section 2011 of the Social Secu6 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1397j); 

7 (2) the term ‘‘adult protective services’’— 

8 (A) means such services provided to adults 

9 as specified in Federal, State, or local law per10 taining to adult protective services; and 

11 (B) includes services such as— 

12 (i) receiving reports of adult abuse, 

13 neglect, or exploitation; 

14 (ii) investigating the reports described 

15 in clause (i); 


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1 (iii) case planning, monitoring, evalua2 tion, and other case work and services; and 

3 (iv) providing, arranging for, or facili4 tating the provision of medical, social serv5 ice, economic, legal, housing, law enforce6 ment, or other protective emergency, or 

7 support services; 

8 (3) the term ‘‘caregiver’’— 

9 (A) means an individual who has the re10 sponsibility for the care of an elder either vol11 untarily, by contract, by receipt of payment for 

12 care, or as a result of the operation of law; and 

13 (B) shall include a family member or other 

14 individual who provides (on behalf of such indi15 vidual or of a public or private agency, organi16 zation, or institution) compensated or uncom17 pensated care to an elder who needs supportive 

18 services in any setting; 

19 (4) the term ‘‘elder abuse’’ includes neglect and 

20 exploitation; 

21 (5) the term ‘‘fiduciary’’— 

22 (A) means an individual or entity with the 

23 legal responsibility— 

24 (i) to make decisions on behalf of and 

25 for the benefit of another individual; and 


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1 (ii) to act in good faith and with fair2 ness; and 

3 (B) shall include— 

4 (i) a trustee; 

5 (ii) a guardian; 

6 (iii) a conservator; 

7 (iv) an executor; 

8 (v) an agent under a financial power 

9 of attorney or health care power of attor10 ney; or 

11 (vi) a representative payee; and 

12 (6) the term ‘‘State’’ means any of the several 

13 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 

14 of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands of the United 

15 States, Guam, American Samoa, and the Common16 wealth of the Mariana Islands. 

17 TITLE I—FEDERAL PROSECU18 TION OF ABUSE AND EXPLOI19 TATION DIRECTED AT EL20 DERS 

21 SEC. 101. ENHANCED PENALTY FOR TELEMARKETING AND 

22 EMAIL-MARKETING FRAUD DIRECTED AT EL23 DERS. 

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

25 States Code, is amended— 


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

2 EMAIL MARKETING’’ after ‘‘TELE3 MARKETING’’; 

4 (2) by striking section 2325 and inserting the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 2325. DEFINITION. 

7 ‘‘In this chapter, the term ‘telemarketing or email 

8 marketing’— 

9 ‘‘(1) means a plan, program, promotion, or 

10 campaign that is conducted to induce— 

11 ‘‘(A) purchases of goods or services; 

12 ‘‘(B) participation in a contest or sweep13 stakes; 

14 ‘‘(C) a charitable contribution, donation, or 

15 gift of money or any other thing of value; 

16 ‘‘(D) investment for financial profit; 

17 ‘‘(E) participation in a business oppor18 tunity; 

19 ‘‘(F) commitment to a loan; or 

20 ‘‘(G) participation in a fraudulent medical 

21 study, research study, or pilot study, 

22 by use of 1 or more interstate telephone calls, 

23 emails, text messages, or electronic instant messages 

24 initiated either by a person who is conducting the 

25 plan, program, promotion, or campaign or by a proVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:49 Sep 27, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3598.IS S3598

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1 spective purchaser or contest or sweepstakes partici2 pant or charitable contributor, donor, or investor; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(2) does not include the solicitation of sales 

5 through the posting, publication, or mailing of a 

6 catalog that— 

7 ‘‘(A) contains a written description or il8 lustration of the goods or services offered for 

9 sale; 

10 ‘‘(B) includes the business address of the 

11 seller; 

12 ‘‘(C) includes multiple pages of written 

13 material or illustration; and 

14 ‘‘(D) has been issued not less frequently 

15 than once a year, 

16 if the person making the solicitation does not solicit 

17 customers by telephone, email, text message, or elec18 tronic instant message, but only receives interstate 

19 telephone calls, emails, text messages, or electronic 

20 instant messages initiated by customers in response 

21 to the catalog and in response to those interstate 

22 telephone calls, emails, text messages, or electronic 

23 instant messages does not conduct further solicita24 tion;’’; and 


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

2 paragraph (1)— 

3 (A) by striking ‘‘or 1344’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘1344, or 1347 or section 1128B of the Social 

5 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–7b)’’; and 

6 (B) by inserting ‘‘or email marketing’’ 

7 after ‘‘telemarketing’’. 

8 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

9 The table of chapters at the beginning of part I of title 

10 18, United States Code, is amended by striking the item 

11 relating to chapter 113A and inserting the following: 

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

12 SEC. 102. DATA COLLECTION. 

13 The Attorney General, in consultation with the Sec14 retary of Health and Human Services, shall, on an annual 

15 basis— 

16 (1) collect from Federal, State, and local law 

17 enforcement agencies and prosecutor offices statis18 tical data relating to the incidence of elder abuse, in19 cluding data relating to— 

20 (A) the number of elder abuse cases re21 ferred to law enforcement agencies, adult pro22 tective services, or any other State entity tasked 

23 with addressing elder abuse; 

24 (B) the number and types of cases filed in 

25 Federal, State, and local courts; and 


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1 (C) the outcomes of the cases described in 

2 subparagraphs (A) and (B) and the reasons for 

3 such outcomes; 

4 (2) identify common data points among Fed5 eral, State, and local law enforcement agencies and 

6 prosecutor offices that would allow for the collection 

7 of uniform national data; 

8 (3) publish a summary of the data collected 

9 under paragraphs (1) and (2); 

10 (4) identify— 

11 (A) the types of data relevant to elder 

12 abuse that should be collected; and 

13 (B) what entity is most capable of col14 lecting the data described in subparagraph (A); 

15 and 

16 (5) develop recommendations for collecting ad17 ditional data relating to elder abuse. 

18 TITLE II—COORDINATION OF 

19 CIVIL PROTECTIONS AND 

20 CRIMINAL PROSECUTION AS 

21 IT RELATES TO ELDER JUS22 TICE 

23 SEC. 201. MODEL STATES LAWS AND PRACTICES. 

24 The Attorney General, in consultation with the Sec25 retary of Health and Human Services and the Elder JusVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:49 Sep 27, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3598.IS S3598

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1 tice Coordinating Council (established under section 2021 

2 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397k)), shall— 

3 (1) create, compile, evaluate, and disseminate 

4 materials and information, and provide the nec5 essary training and technical assistance, to assist 

6 States and units of local government in— 

7 (A) investigating, prosecuting, pursuing, 

8 preventing, understanding, and mitigating the 

9 impact of— 

10 (i) physical, sexual, and psychological 

11 abuse of elders; 

12 (ii) exploitation of elders, including fi13 nancial abuse and scams targeting elders; 

14 and 

15 (iii) neglect of elders; and 

16 (B) assessing, addressing, and mitigating 

17 the physical and psychological trauma to vic18 tims of elder abuse; 

19 (2) collect data and perform an evidence-based 

20 evaluation to— 

21 (A) assure the efficacy of measures and 

22 methods intended to prevent, detect, respond to, 

23 or redress elder abuse; and 

24 (B) evaluate the number of victims of elder 

25 abuse in each State and the extent to which the 


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1 needs of the victims are served by crime victim 

2 services, programs, and sources of funding; 

3 (3) publish a report, on an annual basis, that 

4 describes the results of the evaluations conducted 

5 under paragraphs (1) and (2), and submit the report 

6 to each Federal agency, each State, and the Com7 mittee on the Judiciary and the Special Committee 

8 on Aging of the Senate and the Committee on the 

9 Judiciary of the House of Representatives; 

10 (4) evaluate training models to determine best 

11 practices, create replication guides, create training 

12 materials, if necessary, for law enforcement officers, 

13 prosecutors, judges, emergency responders, individ14 uals working in victim services, adult protective serv15 ices, social services, and public safety, medical per16 sonnel, mental health personnel, financial services 

17 personnel, and any other individuals whose work 

18 may bring them in contact with elder abuse regard19 ing how to— 

20 (A) conduct investigations in elder abuse 

21 cases; 

22 (B) address evidentiary issues and other 

23 legal issues; and 

24 (C) appropriately assess, respond to, and 

25 interact with victims and witnesses in elder 


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1 abuse cases, including in administrative, civil, 

2 and criminal judicial proceedings; 

3 (5) conduct, and update on a regular basis, a 

4 study of laws and practices relating to elder abuse, 

5 neglect, and exploitation, including— 

6 (A) a comprehensive description of State 

7 laws and practices; 

8 (B) an analysis of the effectiveness of 

9 State laws and practices, including— 

10 (i) whether the State laws are en11 forced; and 

12 (ii) if enforced— 

13 (I) how the State laws are en14 forced; and 

15 (II) how enforcement of the State 

16 laws has effected elder abuse within 

17 the State; 

18 (C) a review of State definitions of the 

19 terms ‘‘abuse’’, ‘‘neglect’’, and ‘‘exploitation’’ in 

20 the context of elder abuse cases; 

21 (D) a review of State laws that mandate 

22 reporting of elder abuse, including adult protec23 tive services laws, laws that require the report24 ing of nursing home deaths or suspicious deaths 


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1 of elders to coroners or medical examiners, and 

2 other pertinent reporting laws, that analyzes— 

3 (i) the impact and efficacy of the 

4 State laws; 

5 (ii) whether the State laws are en6 forced; 

7 (iii) the levels of compliance with the 

8 State laws; and 

9 (iv) the response to, and actions taken 

10 as a result of, reports made under the 

11 State laws; 

12 (E) a review of State evidentiary, proce13 dural, sentencing, choice of remedies, and data 

14 retention issues relating to elder abuse, neglect, 

15 and exploitation; 

16 (F) a review of State fiduciary laws, in17 cluding law relating to guardianship, con18 servatorship, and power of attorney; 

19 (G) a review of State laws that permit or 

20 encourage employees of depository institutions 

21 (as defined in section 3(c)(1) of the Federal 

22 Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813(c)(1)) 

23 and State credit unions (as defined in section 

24 101 of the Federal Credit Union Act (12 


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1 U.S.C. 1752)) to prevent and report suspected 

2 elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation; 

3 (H) a review of State laws used in civil 

4 court proceedings to prevent and address elder 

5 abuse; 

6 (I) a review of State laws relating to fraud 

7 and related activities in connection with mail, 

8 telemarketing, the Internet, or health care; 

9 (J) a review of State laws that create pro10 grams, offices, entities, or other programs that 

11 address or respond to elder abuse; and 

12 (K) an analysis of any other State laws re13 lating to elder abuse; and 

14 (6) carry out such other duties as the Attorney 

15 General determines necessary in connection with en16 hancing the understanding, prevention, detection, 

17 and response to elder abuse. 

18 SEC. 202. CIVIL PROTECTION AND CRIMINAL PROSECU19 TION. 

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General, in co22 operation with the Secretary of Health and Human 

23 Services and the Legal Services Corporation, shall 

24 establish a demonstration program to provide grants 

25 on an annual basis to not more than 6 civil legal 


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1 services entities that could prevent or provide rem2 edies for abuse, neglect, and exploitation and col3 laborate with other organizations seeking to prevent, 

4 detect, and respond to elder abuse. 

5 (2) ELIGIBILITY.—Grants awarded under para6 graph (1) shall be provided to entities that dem7 onstrate a commitment to representation of elder 

8 abuse victims or potential victims and participating 

9 in multidisciplinary and interagency efforts to com10 bat elder abuse. 

11 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—To receive a grant under this 

12 section an entity shall— 

13 (1) be an experienced nonprofit legal services 

14 provider; and 

15 (2) propose or demonstrate— 

16 (A) collaboration with State or local aging, 

17 social, and human services and law enforcement 

18 agencies; 

19 (B) partnership with professionals with 

20 knowledge and experience relating to the crimi21 nal justice system; and 

22 (C) methodology for timely evidenced-based 

23 evaluation. 

24 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after the com25 pletion of the demonstration program under this section, 


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1 the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on such 

2 program, that includes the results of the program and rec3 ommendations for such legislation and administrative ac4 tion as the Attorney and Secretary determines to be ap5 propriate. 

6 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

7 are authorized to be appropriated to the Attorney General 

8 such sums as are necessary for fiscal years 2013 through 

9 2017 to carry out this section. 

10 TITLE III—INTERSTATE 

11 INITIATIVES 

12 SEC. 301. INTERSTATE AGREEMENTS AND COMPACTS. 

13 The consent of Congress is given to any 2 or more 

14 States (acting through State agencies with jurisdiction 

15 over adult protective services) to enter into agreements or 

16 compacts for cooperative effort and mutual assistance— 

17 (1) in promoting the safety and well-being of el18 ders; and 

19 (2) in enforcing their respective laws and poli20 cies to promote such safety and well-being. 

21 SEC. 302. RECOMMENDATIONS ON INTERSTATE COMMU22 NICATION. 

23 The Executive Director of the State Justice Institute, 

24 in consultation with State or local aging, social, and 

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1 ally recognized nonprofit associations with expertise in 

2 data sharing among criminal justice agencies and famili3 arity with the issues raised in elder exploitation cases, 

4 shall submit to Congress legislative proposals relating to 

5 the facilitation of interstate agreements and compacts. 

6 TITLE IV—GAO REPORT 

7 SEC. 401. GAO REPORT TO ASSESS COST OF ELDER ABUSE 

8 ON FEDERAL PROGRAMS. 

9 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

10 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States, 

11 in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human 

12 Services, the Department of Health and Human Services 

13 Office of the Inspector General, the Attorney General, and 

14 the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, shall 

15 publish a report reviewing any findings on the financial 

16 cost to the Federal Government from the abuse and exploi17 tation of elders. 

Æ 


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