Description
Book Synopsis By recounting actual court cases, this book examines the multi-billion-dollar elder fraud industry, the special vulnerabilities of those it targets, and the ease and frequency with which it obtains hundreds of thousands of dollars per victim. It also reveals successful strategies for combating that industry and the important contributions to that effort by concerned bankers, doctors, reporters and others in the private sector.
The cases reveal an increasingly sophisticated global industry that targets each victim with a series of repeat hits. This tactic--criminals call it reloading--sets the elder fraud industry apart from groups that defraud younger individuals. Twelve key age-related fraud vulnerabilities are illustrated in the cases. So, too, are the scammers'' skills in mapping their target''s unique combination of vulnerabilities and then tailoring their narratives to exploit each one. Most of the cases highlight actual victims, scam artists or fraud fighters. Thei
Table of Contents
- Introduction: The Elder Fraud Industry Marches Through Town
- Part One. Before We Even Called It "Elder Fraud"
- 1. Will Garrett's Morning Run
- 2. Three Early Cases
- 3. Generating Obsession: The Fire Alarm Salesman and Three Grandmothers
- 4. Sweepstakes and Lottery Scams: The Cases of Mrs. B and Mrs. D
- Part Two. Will, Bill and the War Against the Home Repair Fraud Gang
- 5. "Something big and sinister"
- 6. Road Trip to Rocky Mount
- 7. Without Something Else, These Cases Were Going to Be Hell to Prosecute
- 8. Special Agent Will Garrett Comes to Raleigh
- 9. Tucker Seeks Out "the Colonel"
- Part Three. Victim Mindsets and Vulnerabilities
- 10. Mrs. S and the Twins
- 11. As Little as $1400 Can Be Devastating
- 12. "I found the Colonel!"
- 13. Twelve Key Victim Vulnerabilities and One Myth
- 14. Our House-Mazza Posse Gets Mired in the Mud
- 15. Call the Doctor!
- Part Four. Payoff
- 16. The AG Calls Channel 11 Troubleshooter Jennifer Julian
- 17. "We need to go check on the Colonel!”
- 18. "Boom-Boom!!!"
- Part Five. The Losses Are Seldom Just Financial
- 19. You Can't Assign a Dollar Figure to It
- 20. "Reloading" and the Cycle of Fraud
- 21. Lewis the Elder Orphan
- 22. Will We Save the Elder Orphan?
- 23. George Love, Elder Fraud Fighter
- Part Six. Judgment Day
- 24. "What were you trying to run on my grandmother yesterday?"
- 25. House-Mazza: "Soon, every day will be Saturday!"
- 26. "Frog" and the Habitual Felons
- Part Seven. Going International
- 27. Whack-a-Mole Leads to the "Means and Instrumentalities" Approach
- 28. Canada Calls—FBI Special Agent Joan Fleming Answers
- Part Eight. Miracles and Grace
- 29. On a Muggy July Afternoon … the McPhauls' Case
- 30. Miracle Just Off US 1 North
- 31. McPhaul Miracle Postscript
- Part Nine. Money Mules, "VAP" and Scam Jams
- 32. Charles and Miriam Parker
- 33. VAP and the Retired Fortune 100 Company Exec
- 34. Justice for the Parkers?
- 35. What Are Scientists Saying About All This?
- 36. We're Scam Jammin'!
- Part Ten. King Tommy Won't Relinquish His Throne
- 37. Tommy C, King of the Driveway Paving Scammers
- 38. Tommy C Is Back
- 39. Cat and Mouse with Tommy C
- 40. Famous Last Words About Tommy C
- Part Eleven. More and More
- 41. Romance Scams: What Percy Sledge Said
- 42. Threats
- 43. "Bahkah?"
- 44. Barker Wasn't the Only One
- 45. Retired Fortune 100 Exec: The Rest of the Story
- Conclusion: The Rewards of Fighting Elder Fraud
- Chapter Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
