IV 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 328 
Supporting the protection of elders through financial literacy. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 25, 2019 
Mr. CASTEN of Illinois (for himself and Mr. JOHN W. ROSE of Tennessee) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on Financial Services 
RESOLUTION 
Supporting the protection of elders through financial literacy. 
Whereas in the context of the financial exploitation of the el-
derly, Federal statute defines ‘‘exploitation’’ as ‘‘the 
fraudulent or otherwise illegal, unauthorized, or improper 
act or process of an individual, including a caregiver or 
fiduciary, that uses the resources of an elder for mone-
tary or personal benefit, profit, or gain, or that results 
in depriving an elder of rightful access to, or use of, ben-
efits, resources, belongings, or assets’’ (42 U.S.C. 
1397j(8)) (‘‘Elder Financial Exploitation’’); 
Whereas the National Adult Protective Services Association 
has stated, ‘‘Elder abuse is vastly under-reported; only 
one in 44 cases of financial abuse is ever reported’’; 
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Whereas Elder Financial Exploitation is expected to increase 
in the upcoming years as 10,000 baby boomers are turn-
ing 65 each day; 
Whereas estimates by the Investor Protection Trust suggest 
that as many as one of five citizens over the age of 65 
are victims of the theft of money, property, identity or 
belongings; 
Whereas according to the National Center on Aging, ‘‘Up to 
5 million older Americans are abused every year, and the 
annual loss by victims of financial abuse is estimated to 
be at least $36.5 billion.’’; 
Whereas older adults are targeted for Elder Financial Exploi-
tation through schemes such as fraud by trusted family, 
caregivers, and fiduciaries, and through scams by strang-
ers often committed by international criminal networks; 
Whereas common schemes by fraudsters and scammers in-
clude, lottery and sweepstakes scams, telemarketing 
scams, home-repair scams, computer-repair scams, invest-
ment scams, internet phishing scams, abuse of fiduciary 
authority, and identity theft; 
Whereas Financial Literacy Month aims to highlight for all 
Americans the importance of establishing and maintain-
ing healthy financial habits; 
Whereas education about healthy financial habits includes the 
protection of one’s finances from financial exploitation, 
especially for older adults who are vulnerable to targeted 
frauds and scams; 
Whereas to combat this serious financial concern and to pro-
tect the elder community, this education must also extend 
to financial institutions, law enforcement, and regulatory 
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agencies so they may work together to understand and 
detect these frauds and scams; 
Whereas these partnerships include not only Federal agen-
cies, but also State, local, and Tribal authorities such as 
law enforcement and adult protective services agencies; 
Whereas 
the 
Financial 
Crimes 
Enforcement 
Network 
(FinCEN) is vital to the pursuit of these bad actors, col-
lecting suspicious activity report (SAR) information and 
sharing, as necessary, its data, analysis, and guidance 
with appropriate public- and private-sector partners fo-
cused on detecting and ending Elder Financial Exploi-
tation; 
Whereas FinCEN, working with Federal consumer and law 
enforcement partners engages with financial institutions 
and State and local authorities to educate on the signs 
of Elder Financial Exploitation; 
Whereas FinCEN, the Consumer Financial Protection Bu-
reau, and the Department of Justice issued in 2017 a 
joint memorandum to provide information on the use of 
SARs in the investigation of Elder Financial Exploi-
tation, building on a 2011 Advisory that identified red 
flags for detection; and 
Whereas despite the broad efforts by law enforcement, regu-
latory agencies, financial institutions, and private sector 
organizations to educate and share information, Elder Fi-
nancial Exploitation persists as a multi-billion dollar in-
dustry, more can be done: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) supports the goals of Financial Literacy 
Month to raise public awareness about— 
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(A) the importance of personal financial 
education in the United States; and 
(B) the serious consequences that may re-
sult from a lack of understanding about per-
sonal finances; 
(2) acknowledges that raising awareness of 
threats to personal finances, especially for vulner-
able, targeted populations like older adults and their 
relatives and caregivers, is only one party of finan-
cial literacy; 
(3) understands that to combat Elder Financial 
Exploitation, it is also necessary to encourage con-
tinued education and collaboration among law en-
forcement, financial institutions, regulatory agencies, 
and private sector organizations allowing detection, 
prevention, reporting, and investigation of these 
crimes; 
(4) supports work being done by FinCEN and 
its partners to educate the stakeholders which serve 
and protect America’s elder community; 
(5) urges continued public-private partnership 
and appropriate information sharing to prevent, de-
tect, report, and investigate Elder Financial Exploi-
tation; and 
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(6) urges action to assist with remediation and 
reporting, as well as prevention and detection to 
have best possible data, feedback, and incident re-
sponse. 
Æ 
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