Olmsted official: More vulnerable adults fall victim to exploitation

Financial exploitation of vulnerable adults isn't new — it's been a silent, hidden issue for years, according to Tammy Gross of Olmsted County Adult Protection.

"We get a call at least every day about it," Gross said. "In the last two weeks, we've gotten four cases."

But the county didn't want to let the cases pile up without prosecution, she said.

That's where former Olmsted County Sheriff's Department detective Dave Rikhus comes in.

"In other counties, they work closely with law enforcement, but I don't know of anyone who has a detective on their team," Gross said.

A vulnerable adult is anyone who lives at a care facility or receives in-home care, or a person with a physical or mental impairment that makes it difficult for them to protect themselves from poor treatment.

Financial exploitation happens when someone, usually a family member or caretaker, takes advantage of a vulnerable adult by spending their money without the adult's best interest in mind.

"Going out and spending their money like it's your money is not in their best interest," Rikhus said.

The problem has grown as the population has aged, Gross said. Younger generations aren't making as much money as their parents, but they're used to certain things.

"They think of it as borrowing in advance," she said. "Family members will say, 'Well, Mom would've given this to me anyway.' But they aren't dead yet; things can change."

Some warning signs:

• Chunks of money aren't accounted for.

• A new power of attorney takes over accounts for Grandma, then buys a new car or goes on vacation.

• A vulnerable adult might start saying she can't afford medicines or going out with friends like she used to.

Financial exploitation is often accompanied by other types of abuse, like manipulation, neglect and isolation, Gross said.

'It's not always our goal to prosecute'

So far, Rikhus has sent five financial exploitation cases to the county attorney for prosecution since he started in March 2013, and he's working on six more. And Rikhus works only 14 hours a week.

Gross has worked at Adult Protection for 14 years and saw only three cases prosecuted throughout that time, she said.

Anything more than $500 is considered a felony, and sentencing varies depending on past criminal records and the extent of the crime.

"It's not always our goal to prosecute," Gross said. "Our goal is to protect the money."

Investigating financial exploitation can be time-consuming. It requires scouring bank records, serving search warrants and subpoenas and interviewing alleged perpetrators.

"Just one case had more than 3,500 pages of financial records to look at," Rikhus said. "You're talking about a lot of paperwork."

Investigations usually last one to seven months, culminating in an interview with the person who is allegedly committing the crime.

"By the time we're set to do the interview, I can already prove financial exploitation," Rikhus said.

Rikhus and Gross are training financial institutions and people who work with vulnerable adults on what to look for. But it's hard to convince people that they could be at risk, Gross said.

"They'll say, 'That might happen to Gladys, but my kids would never do that,''' she said.