Elder Financial Abuse Advice

[Buzz340]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WI

Hello,

I am looking for some advice with respect to a situation I am in with my Grandparents and their Financial Representative.

My grandparents have recently moved into a nursing home due to health conditions so I had to clean out their house to put up for sale to help cover medical expenses. I found personal checks written out to their financial representative in her first name only. Through months of research I have about a dozen checks written out to her with a total sum nothing to laugh at. She was registered through a very large and well known financial institution but has been terminated after I submitted copies a few checks to their compliance department. The financial institution has filed a customer dispute with FINRA and we have submitted a complaint with the Wisconsin State Department of Financial Institutions - Securities Division. They have found the checks to be deposited in personal account held by the financial representative.

My question is, How should I resolve this? Mediation, arbitration, or civil lawsuit? On what grounds should I use? Breach of fiduciary duty, embezzlement, failure to supervise....? Anything directly related to elder financial abuse?

What should I ask for in compensation? The principal amount? Attorney fees? Interest? Additional compensation?

We have currently taken out a home equity loan on my grandparents house to pay for medical expenses because the representative tied up all of their money in annuities which have surrender fees up to 15% currently.

Additional information: We did mention something about the checks to the financial rep and claimed my grandparents didn't want us to know about an account put into my dads name. We then requested statements for that account and she sent us a statement which we believed to be false. We called the company and they have no accounts under any of my relatives social securities. A phone number she gave us turned out to be "Bobs Automotive." The financial institution agrees that there was no account set up to begin with.

Any advice would be great!

Thank you,

buzzWhat is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

[OldandTired]

Originally Posted by Buzz340

My question is, How should I resolve this?

Contact the local police department that has jurisdiction to where these transactions took place. Ask that an officer be sent to you so you can file an embezzlement report. Get an investigator assigned to this. You will almost certainly prevail at any future civil litigation once she is criminally charged.

If she was working for an agency, that agency will also carry responsibility to her actions. After you have contacted the police and have filed a criminal complaint, get a civil attorney.

Find out how the accounts that were established for the annuities came about. If you can show they were established without the consent of your Grandparents, you might be able to have those reversed without penalty.

You should approach this as though every single action this woman took regarding your Grandparents' finances was with malicious intent. Get everything unwound, and start anew.

[Buzz340]

Thank you for your input,

Is there a chance that the financial institution might try to make us whole voluntarily or are we going to push them every step of the way.

What do you need to prove to prosecute an embezzlement allegation?

Also, we do not believe there was any forgery of signatures but do believe that my grandparents did not understand the financial ramifications of these transactions. My grandmother has been diagnosed with dementia, who was the person that signed all the legal documents.

What would the financial institution be liable for? Being she was only registered with them for securities? Is the financial institution accountable for the personal checks the financial rep received from my grandmother?

Thank you again for any help,

Buzz

[OldandTired]

Since this was a financial institution she was working for, and checks were disbursed and deposited into another financial institution, you could involve the FBI, as all fraudulent transactions concerning banks and of the like, fall under federal jurisdiction.

To be able to make a case regarding embezzlement, one would have to show that funds were given for one legitimate purpose, and they were used for personal gain by the financial rep.

Your Grandmother may very well have thought she was writing a check to add to her portfolio, while not having a clear mind as to whom she wrote the check out to. She was familiar with the face of that person, and that person had already gained your Grandmother's trust, therefore, there was no reason for your Grandmother, should she had been able to, to question who's name went on the check.

It appears to me that this person exploited that trust and gained financially from it.

If the financial institution doesn't want bad press, (and I strongly urge you to involve the media if they balk at righting the wrongs here), they will voluntarily reverse everything. Get an attorney. I cannot stress this enough. The financial institution has many working for them. You need one or two working for you to make sure there is nothing concealed.

Press the FBI or your local PD for prosecution of this rep that was terminated. The FBI has a "White Collar Crime" section, that investigates criminal acts that involve financial institutions, Wall St., etc.

Get an attorney on your side and on this right away though. Don't wait for law enforcement to take action.

[Buzz340]

Thank for your informative and quick responses, you are much help.

In the last week or so I have been convinced we require an attorney. This process of fixing the wrong is not making progress. Currently I am waiting for a copy of a statement the financial institution submitted to the State as a reply to our initial complaint with the state. I would be very excited if they claimed some type of accountability or responsibility. But I doubt it.

Here is my new questions;
What type of qualifications should I look for in an attorney? i.e. areas of practice?
Any specific questions I should ask him to check his knowledge on this topic?

I have contacted one attorney already, but I do not feel he is qualified. He wants to have me meet with him at his firm.

Thank you again.

[OldandTired]

My suggestion is to start looking for a Civil Defense Attorney, and ask the attorney if he/she has any previous experience in going toe-to-toe with financial institutions. If so, would they allow you to view the final proceedings pages that came as a victory to them.

My guess is going to be that you would need to deal with a large law firm, as they will have many attorney's, and the larger the meeting-of-the-minds, the better off you become.